The Saudi market has been active since the beginning of the year, amid high trading, crowned by the implementation of the semi-annual review of the FTSE indices on Thursday, which contributed to pumping net liquidity estimated at $187 million at the end of last week.
The intense trading was accompanied by a rise in traded shares. Asharq statistics, based on market data, indicate that within two and a half months, the number of companies whose shares rose by more than 10% reached 123 companies, which exceeds the number of companies whose shares rose less and lost. During that period, the market index rose by 6.4% compared to 14% during the entire trading year.
Shares of 16 companies jumped by more than 50%. Of these shares, 3 companies rose by more than 110%, in addition to the Eastern Pipes Company, which jumped by 86.5%.
MBC Group shares gained the largest in the Saudi market, increasing by 154% since the start of trading on January 8 of this year.
Saudi Pipes Company shares came in second place, rising by 123.14%. This rise was driven by the company’s financial statements during the last quarter of last year, as its profits rose by 413%, while revenues increased by more than three times.
Avalon Pharma, which went public on February 27, is up 117.56% through the end of the week.
Activate the proposals
Saudi Arabia is developing its capital markets, looking to attract more foreign investors, and encouraging more companies to go public. It has also introduced several new investment products such as options and futures contracts.
This has contributed to increased demand for the market, as Citigroup data indicates that the average daily trading value in the market this year reached 8.9 billion riyals ($2.4 billion), an increase of 68% from 5.3 billion riyals last year.
Liquidity in the market is expected to increase further with the upcoming offerings, as the kingdom is in talks to include major American banks in an upcoming secondary offering of oil giant Aramco, which is expected to be one of the largest offerings in recent years, according to Bloomberg, which indicated that the Saudi Public Investment Fund may also offer shares in its portfolio companies for subscription as a way to secure financing to boost its cash reserves.
Stocks hit all-time high
Several stocks in the market recorded their highest level ever at the end of trading last Thursday amid increased trading in the market (excluding stocks that started trading in the market this year), including the shares of Saudi Pipes and the shares of the Saudi Chemical Holding Company.
Shares of the Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG) also recorded an all-time high at the end of trading this week. Shares of the company that owns Al Sharq News Channel rose 9.95% on Thursday to reach 278.4 riyals. The stock thus exceeded the historical level it recorded in April 2022.
The market is awaiting the announcement of the company's business results during the last quarter of last year in the coming days, after the group achieved the highest quarterly profits during the third quarter since its listing on the Saudi Stock Exchange in 2006, at 249 million riyals ($66.4 million), a growth of 1% over the profits of the third quarter of 2022, in parallel with the rise in operating costs.
