March 14, 2003	Friday	Muharram 10, 1424

RIYADH, March 13: Saudi shares dipped on Thursday for the third week in a row over jitters of a threatened US war against neighbouring Iraq that has severely shaken investor confidence, traders said.

The Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI) finished the week on 2,525.17 points, down 1.2 per cent on last week’s closing of 2,555.47 points.

The TASI is now up just 0.3 per cent on the end of 2002, and down 13.7 per cent on its all-time high of 2,927.23 points recorded last May.

During trading on Sunday, the TASI dropped to 2,477.14, its lowest level in three months, slipping below the 2,500-point psychological barrier for the first time in 2003.

Dealers and analysts attributed the slide to war jitters and to the fact that demand was much less than offers, as investors were pressed for cash to meet credit obligations and to save in the event of war.

The slide was led by blue chips as all banks and market leaders Saudi Telecom and the Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) dropped. Only the second largest firm on the bourse, Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), rose 0.2 per cent.

The nine listed banks, Saudi Telecom, SABIC and SEC together make up more than 85 per cent of the market value.

Prices of seven companies rose, 53 companies went down, and three issues were unchanged. Seven listed firms did not trade.

Trading value dropped 20 per cent to 2.4 billion riyals from three billion riyals last week.—AFP