By: Thabet Shehata

Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) soared in the first quarter of 2019, hitting record high levels, supported by launching the first phase of the inclusion of Saudi stocks in the MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) index in March.  

The Tadawul All Shares Index (TASI) ended Q1-19 at the level of 8,819.44 points, gaining 992.7 points, or 12.7%, quarter-on-quarter.

Market capitalisation climbed SAR 228 billion ($60.82 billion) to SAR 2.087 trillion ($556.54 billion) in the three months ended 31 March.

The consumer services sector topped gainers and soared 24.6% over the course of Q1-19, followed by the telecommunications and banking sectors which rose 20.7% and 19%, respectively.

On the other hand, the pharmaceuticals sector led decliners with 6.5%, while the energy sector fell 4.53% during the first three months of 2019.

Liquidity drop

TASI’s liquidity plunged 19% to SAR 177 billion in Q1-19, compared to SAR 218 billion in Q4-18, while the market’s traded volume tumbled 16% to 7.65 billion shares from 9.1 billion in the final three months of 2018.

Monthly positive performance

Month-on-month, TASI advanced 3.85%, or 326.7 points, in March on the back of Tadawul’s inclusion in the FTSE Russell and S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Launching the first phase of the inclusion of Saudi stocks will have a large impact on the types of investors in the Saudi market, Capital Market Authority's (CMA) chairman Mohammed El-Kuwaiz said.

The second, third, fourth and fifth phases of the upgrade will begin on 22 April, 24 June, 23 September, and 23 December, respectively.

Translated by: Zeinab Adel