Tadawul Shares Start New Week Lower; Acwa Power Bags $400 Million Contract

07:43 AM EST, 12/28/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Tadawul All Share Index closed Sunday 1.04% lower, extending losses for the third consecutive session, amid subdued trading volumes during the last few days of 2025. Tensions grew after Saudi Arabia allegedly bombed separatist positions in Yemen's Hadhramaut province on Dec. 26, while the US called for restraint, according to media reports. Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen warned of a direct and immediate response to any separatist military movements that oppose de-escalation initiatives in the southern region, Aljazeera said, citing the Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman. On the economic calendar, investors will evaluate the third-quarter unemployment report on Monday, after a sequential increase in the unemployment rate in the June quarter. Later, the government will release the money supply and bank lending data for November on Wednesday. In corporate news, Saudi utility company Acwa Power (SASE:2082), down 1.78%, secured a contract worth $400 million from the Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency for the development of Azerbaijan's first large-scale seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant. Naqi Water (SASE:2282), which closed 2.71% in the red, agreed to buy two production lines for bottled drinking water instead of a single one, upgrading the contract to 9.6 million euros from 8.5 million euros. The two independent production lines are intended for the water production and bottling company's new factory in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The index's top performers included carrier Flynas (SASE:4264) and miner Almasane Alkobra Mining (SASE:1322), d/b/a Amak, up 5.08% and 4.76%, respectively. At the same time, Mutakamela Insurance (SASE:8040) and Wafrah for Industry and Development Co. (SASE:2100) were the biggest losers, falling 8.35% and 7.14%, in the closing trade.