10 things to watch on Tadawul today

Here are a few things you need to know as Saudi stocks start trading on Thursday.

1) Fitch Ratings has maintained Saudi Arabia's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at "A+" with stable outlook.

2) Saudi Electricity Co.’s (SEC) general assembly has approved a 7 percent cash dividend for the fiscal year 2018, at SAR 0.7 per share, amounting to SAR 749.3 million.

3) Herfy Food Services Co.’s shareholders have approved an 11 percent cash dividend for the second half of 2018, during the general assembly meeting held on April 30, 2019.

4) Jarir Marketing Co.'s board of directors has recommended a 19 percent cash dividend for Q1 2019, at SAR 1.90 per share, amounting to SAR 228 million

5) Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. (Petro Rabigh) reported a net profit after zakat and tax of SAR 257 million for the first quarter of 2019, a 13.2 percent year-on-year (YoY) decrease mainly due to lower refined products margin.

6) Saudi Company for Hardware (SACO) reported a net profit after zakat and tax of SAR 19.2 million for the first quarter of 2019, a 32 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase on higher sales, higher other income and lower general and administrative expenses.

7) Eastern Province Cement Co.’s general assembly has approved a 7.5 percent cash dividend for the fiscal year of 2018, at SAR 0.75 per share, amounting to SAR 64.5 million.

8) Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance (Bupa Arabia) has obtained the approval of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the central bank and insurance market regulator, to launch and market a new insurance product.

9) Etihad Atheeb Telecommunication Co.’s (GO)) lawsuit against the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has been postponed until May 15, 2019.

10) Brent crude on Thursday dropped 24 cents to reach $71.94/bbl, while WTI crude declined 20 cents to $63.40/bbl.