Cement stocks jump on tariff cut news

Cement stocks jumped on the Saudi stock market early on Thursday after the government said it would slash cement export tariffs by 50 percent.

Najran Cement and Al Jouf Cement added around 5 percent each to SAR 10.46 and SAR 8.35 respectively.

Najran Cement, Al Jouf Cement, Tabuk Cement and Hail Cement have already acquired export licenses earlier this year.

"The move should immediately benefit those companies that already have export licenses,” said Anoop Fernandes, senior analyst at Bahrain-based SICO.

Tabuk, Northern Region and Hail all rose around 3 percent each to SAR 11.50, SAR 10.16 and SAR 3.20.    

Meanwhile, the broader Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) was trading 0.2 percent lower at 7,254 at 12 AM Saudi time.  

Write to Brinda Darasha at brinda.d@argaamplus.com