RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index edged up for the third consecutive day, as it gained 31.54 points to close at 12,804. The total trading turnover of the benchmark index on Tuesday was SR9.87 billion ($2.63 billion), with 95 of the listed stocks advancing and 128 declining. The parallel market Nomu shed 59.11 points to close at 27,145.56. The MSCI Tadawul Index was steady, as it gained a marginal 2.71 points to end the trading at 1,609.67. The best-performing stock on the main market was Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., whose share price increased by 8.72 percent to SR34.90. Another top performer was Leejam Sports Co., which announced its financial results on Tuesday. The company reported a net profit of SR356 million in 2023, representing a rise of 39.6 percent compared to the preceding year. Driven by its rising net profit, the share price of Leejam Sports Co. surged by 8.10 percent to SR243. In a Tadawul statement, the company attributed the jump to an increase in the number of members and operating centers. Leejam Sports Co. said that its net profit for the fourth quarter also witnessed a 22.85 percent rise to SR154 million compared to the same period of the previous year. The worst performer was Alkhorayef Water and Power Technologies Co., who share price dipped by 9.27 percent to SR236.80. National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia also announced its financial results on Tuesday. The company, also known as Bahri, reported a net profit of $1.61 billion in 2023, up 55 percent compared to the previous year. It said that this surge in net profit was driven by the growth in the chemicals transportation segment’s revenue. In a separate statement, Bahri said that its board of directors has recommended a cash dividend at 5.5 percent, or SR0.55 per share, for 2023. In another major development, the Saudi exchange announced the approval of Merrill Lynch KSA’s application for conducting market-making activities on Saudi Arabian Oil Co., beginning from March 19. The market-making obligations include an 80 percent minimum presence of orders, a minimum size of SR500,000, along with a maximum spread of 0.30 percent.