RIYADH: The Kingdom"s stock exchange made a positive start to the trading week despite a surge in coronavirus cases globally. TASI, the main index, closed 1.14 percent higher at 11,560 points, while the parallel Nomu market added 0.8 percent to reach 25,831 points. This was driven by gains in some of Saudi’s biggest players along with some major banks, including Alinma Bank. It hit an all-time closing high of SR26.1, with around 15 million shares changing hands. Shares in Al Rajhi Bank and Bank Aljazira also pushed the main index up, rising 0.7 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively. The Saudi National Bank was up 1.2 percent as the National Commercial Bank, or NCB, concluded the final phases of a merger with Samba Financial Group to form SNB. Saudi oil giant Aramco rose by 0.7 percent to SR35.7. Shares of Petro Rabigh saw the highest gains in today’s session, amounting to 10 percent. The Gulf’s mining champion, Saudi Arabian Mining Co., known as Ma’aden, saw a 2.4-percent increase in its share price amid the Kingdom"s preparation to host the Future Minerals Forum this week. Shares in Saudi National Co. for Learning and Education, or NCLE, rose 3.3 percent. This came after a 378-percent profit increase during the quarter ended Nov. 30, 2021, compared to the same quarter last year. Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff Co.’s, or SADAFCO, dropped 1.6 percent, despite the board’s proposal to payout SR3 per share for the first half of the fiscal year ended Mar. 31, 2022.