Closing Bell: Saudi stock exchange recovers 110 points as oil prices fuel rally

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index marked a pronounced recovery as it rose 110.27 points — or 1.05 percent — on Monday to close at 10,647.18 following the surge in oil prices encouraged by top importer China’s move to reopen its borders.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up $2.29, or 2.9 percent, at $80.86 a barrel by 1:50 p.m. Riyadh time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 rose $2.46, or 3.3 percent, to $76.23.

“It seems that the easing of COVID-19 measures in China was a catalyst for the recovery in oil prices seen today, which gave a boost to the Saudi market. China’s reopening of its economy is important and may reduce concerns about global economic growth,” Raed Mohamed Diab, vice president of investment strategy and research of Kuwait-based Kamco Invest, told Arab News.

TASI’s total trading turnover of the benchmark index on Monday surged 40 percent to SR4.21 billion ($1.03 billion) from Sunday’s SR3 billion. The market breadth was upbeat as 171 of the listed 223 advanced while 39 lagged.

“With the strong fundamentals of the Saudi market, it seems that investors have seized the opportunities available to them after the Tadawul index fell sharply in the last couple of months,” said Diab.

On the sectoral front, 19 of the 21 progressed, while two dipped. The Food and Beverages Index led the rally as it closed 2.37 percent higher at 4,735.32 points, followed by the materials and the commercial services industries that gained 1.87 percent and 1.66 percent to 6,608.97 and 3,497.30, respectively.

Parallel market Nomu and MSCI Tadawul 30 Index also yielded 99.65 points and 18.28 points to wrap up at 19,304.08 and 1,483.65, respectively.

“Saudi (exchange) witnessed a broad-based recovery during the day with small cap sectors like media and REITs (real estate investment trusts) reporting marginal declines while the rest of the market was in the green,” added Diab.

Stock markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council region also joined the bandwagon as all indices except Abu Dhabi gained. Qatar Stock Exchange, in fact, rose 169.12 points to close at 11,466.70.

“Investors are waiting for the US inflation data this week, as it will give a strong indication of the Fed’s move at the next meeting in February,” said Diab.

Meanwhile, the most notable announcement of the day was Mobile Telecommunication Co. Saudi Arabia, also known as Zain KSA, completing the sale of stakes in its tower infrastructure to Golden Lattice Investment Co. for SR3.02 billion.

As part of the deal, the telecom services provider transferred at least 3,000 out of the 8,069 towers. The company will transfer the rest in batches in 18 months, it said in a statement to Tadawul.

The Public Investment Fund owns 60 percent of GLIC, while Zain KSA, Prince Saud bin Fahad and Sultan Holding Co. hold 20 percent, 10 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Zain KSA’s share price on Monday rose 3.26 percent to SR10.76.

Naqi Water Co. also announced that its shareholders approved the board’s proposal to distribute a cash dividend at 10 percent of capital, or SR1 a share, for the second and third quarters of 2022, disbursing a total dividend of SR20 million on Jan.18. Its share price, however, slipped 0.88 percent to SR67.20.