JEDDAH – Saudi Arabia stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Transport, Insurance and Agriculture & Food sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul All Share Index lost 0.13%.

The best performers of the session on the Tadawul All Share were Nama Chemicals Co., which rose 5.71% or 1.15 points to trade at 21.30 at the close. Meanwhile, Yanbu National Petrochemical Co added 3.66% or 2.11 points to end at 59.70 and Riyad Bank was up 2.66% or 0.31 points to 11.98 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Salama Cooperative Insurance Co, which fell 5.89% or 1.32 points to trade at 21.08 at the close. SABB Takaful declined 4.07% or 1.23 points to end at 29.00 and Gulf General Cooperative Insurance was down 3.97% or 0.79 points to 19.10.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange by 105 to 64 and 9 ended unchanged.

Shares in Riyad Bank rose to 52-week highs; rising 2.66% or 0.31 to 11.98.

Oil traded near $50/bbl in New York, close to a three-month high, as a further reduction in US drilling added to signs the global crude surplus is abating.

WTI futures slipped 0.5% after advancing 5.1% last week. Rigs targeting crude fell by seven to 749, according to data Friday from Baker Hughes.

WTI for October delivery declined $0.26 to $49.63/bbl on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Sept. 14, it reached $50.50, the highest since May 25. Total volume traded was in line with the 100-day average.

Brent for November settlement also fell $0.26 to $55.36/bbl on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices rose 3.4% last week. Brent crude traded at a premium of $5.24 to November WTI. — SG/Agencies