Riyadh – Mubasher: The main index of Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) jumped 5.5% or 382.2 points on Wednesday, the highest rate of increase since 25 August 2015, to close at 7334.87 points, a two-month high.

The rise came after the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef has been relieved of his post as the next in line to the Saudi throne and appointing Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his place, according to a royal order released by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

This coincided with the announcement by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) that the Saudi stock market would be on the Watch List for inclusion in the index next year.

Turnover rose to the highest level since 25 April 2016 to reach SAR 9.96 billion, through exchanging 387 million shares on Wednesday, compared to turnover of SAR 2.9 billion and trading volume of 122 million shares on Tuesday.

The banks led the gaining sectors and hiked 8.02%, while the telecom and material sectors rose 4.9% and 3.16%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) sector declined solely 8.02%.

On the other hand, the main index (NOMU) of Nomu-Parallel Market lost 3.07% or 119 points to close at 3,768.8 points.

Traded volume reached 265,000 shares at a value of SAR 7.3 million.