Riyadh - Mubasher: The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) surged in the first quarter of 2018, supported by the gains achieved in March and investors’ optimism regarding the listing on the FTSE Russel Index.

The Tadawul All Shares Index (TASI) ended the week at the level of 7,870.87 points, gaining 644.55 points.

The main index achieved quarterly market capital gains of SAR 179.99 billion, equivalent to 10.7%, raising the market’s total to SAR 1.87 billion.

As for the market sectors’ performance, media and publishing surged 25.1%, while food retail and telecom added 17.3%, and 14.9%, respectively.

Banks and materials also increased by 13.3%, and 11.9%.

On the other hand, seven market sectors declined in Q1, with REITS, real estate losing 10.1%, and 9.6%, respectively.

Traded volumes reached 11.07 billion shares, with a total turnover SAR 237.28 billion.

TASI added 6% in March, increasing by 452 points, compared to its level by the end of February.