Saudi Arabia: Market Value Jumps to $576 Bn

Man monitoring Saudi Market (File Photo: AFP)
Man monitoring Saudi Market (File Photo: AFP)
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Saudi Arabia: Market Value Jumps to $576 Bn

Man monitoring Saudi Market (File Photo: AFP)
Man monitoring Saudi Market (File Photo: AFP)

Saudi stock market index continued its positive gains for the seventh week in a row recording its best weekly closing price in almost four years, meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance announced strong growth in first quarter revenues for the year 2019.

Investors are especially interested in the Saudi financial market, while the market trading record new gains every week, which pushed the index to close above 9270 points, amid a more positive cash flow.

Companies and banks dividend yield will improve in line with the positive growth of the Saudi economy, in addition to the country's announcement of the largest spending budget, which exceeds the barrier of SR1.1 trillion, according to current year's budget.

Over the past 30 days, figures show that the market index managed to achieve gains above the 7 percent mark, while the market value of transactions jumped to $576.2 billion.

Total transactions of the last week increased significantly reaching about $4.91 billion, compared with $4.46 billion during the previous week, recording a liquidity rate of 10.2 percent on a weekly basis.

Since the beginning of the year, the Saudi stock market index recorded gains of about 18.5 percent, which demonstrates the vitality and effectiveness of the financial market in the country, and further, attracts investment.

Saudi stock market is one of the world’s best performing financial markets in the first months of 2019. Listed companies are to complete their first quarter financial results, with financial institutions predicting positive results.

So far, about 40 companies listed in the Saudi stock market announced their Q1 results for 2019, with 25 companies showing a remarkable increase in profitability. Major companies are expected to start announcing their financial results on Sunday.

Meanwhile, during the Financial Sector Conference, the Ministry of Finance announced Q1 results which showed a surplus of $7.42 billion dollars.

This surplus demonstrates the feasibility of the economic reforms undertaken by Saudi Arabia in light of Vision 2030, while revenues achieved a new growth rate during Q1 of 2019, at about 48 percent, and expenditure levels increased 8 percent compared with the same period in 2018.

The Financial Sector Conference recorded over 4,000 participants from 80 countries, which witnessed 21 main and experts’ sessions. It is considered a leading financial forum benefiting domestic and international financial sectors, where the platform was announced through 42 ads with 22 signed agreements, and the number of bilateral meetings reached 179.

The Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Ministry of Finance Abdulaziz bin Saleh al-Furaih described the conference as the largest financial dialogue platform in the Middle East, supporting innovation, stimulating partnerships, and building relationships between financial institutions and investors.

He also noted that the Conference contributed to the development of new standards for the financial sector in Saudi Arabia and the region, drawing attention to the importance of the Kingdom's competitive position of the financial sector globally and in the Middle East.



Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
TT

Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

Gold prices rose over 1% to hit a two-week peak on Friday, heading for the best weekly performance in more than a year, buoyed by safe-haven demand as Russia-Ukraine tensions intensified.

Spot gold jumped 1.3% to $2,703.05 per ounce as of 1245 GMT, hitting its highest since Nov. 8. US gold futures gained 1.1% to $2,705.30.

Bullion rose despite the US dollar hitting a 13-month high, while bitcoin hit a record peak and neared the $100,000 level.

"With both gold and USD (US dollar) rising, it seems that safe-haven demand is lifting both assets," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Ukraine's military said its drones struck four oil refineries, radar stations and other military installations in Russia, Reuters reported.

Gold has gained over 5% so far this week, its best weekly performance since October 2023. Prices have gained around $173 after slipping to a two-month low last week.

"We understand that the price setback has been used by 'Western world' investors under-allocated to gold to build exposure considering the geopolitical risks that are still around. So we continue to expect gold to rise further over the coming months," Staunovo said.

Bullion tends to shine during geopolitical tensions, economic risks, and a low interest rate environment. Markets are pricing in a 59.4% chance of a 25-basis-points cut at the Fed's December meeting, per the CME Fedwatch tool.

However, "if Fed skips or pauses its rate cut in December, that will be negative for gold prices and we could see some pullback," said Soni Kumari, a commodity strategist at ANZ.

The Chicago Federal Reserve president reiterated his support for further US interest rate cuts on Thursday.

On Friday, spot silver rose 1.8% to $31.34 per ounce, platinum eased 0.1% to $960.13 and palladium fell 0.6% to $1,023.55. All three metals were on track for a weekly rise.