RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s main TASI index ended higher for the seventh straight session, buoyed by strong investor sentiment stifling any lingering omicron fears. TASI advanced 0.5 percent to close at 12,166 points after starting the session with mild gains, while the parallel market Nomu edged down by 0.4 percent to 26,180 points. Tadawul group, owner of the Saudi Exchange, led the gainers as it added 5.8 percent to reach SR160 ($45) — its highest closing value since listing. This was supported by advances in the Kingdom’s utility provider ACWA POWER Co., its largest lender the Saudi National Bank, and oil giant Saudi Aramco, up 0.2, 1.4 and 0.4 percent, respectively. ACWA POWER re-appointed Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan as chairman of the board of directors for another three years. In the financial sector, Alinma bank was up 0.9 percent to a record high of SR27.9 and the Saudi British Bank, known as SABB, gained 1.9 percent. Shares of Saudi franchise retailer Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Co. surged 3.7 percent. Earlier, the retailer submitted a filing to the Capital Market Authority for capital decrease, followed by capital increase through rights issue of SR1 billion. Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corp., or SPIMACO, was up 1.5 percent after it sealed a deal with Swiss-based Vifor Pharma to localize the production of an injection. In the oil market, Brent crude was down to $85.7 per barrel after crossing $86 earlier in the morning, and US WTI crude oil reached $83,7 per barrel as of 3:37 p.m. Saudi time.