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.



Oil Prices Rise as Concerns Grow over Supply Disruptions

Oil Prices Rise as Concerns Grow over Supply Disruptions
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Oil Prices Rise as Concerns Grow over Supply Disruptions

Oil Prices Rise as Concerns Grow over Supply Disruptions

Oil prices climbed on Tuesday reversing earlier declines, as fears of tighter Russian and Iranian supply due to escalating Western sanctions lent support.

Brent futures were up 61 cents, or 0.80%, to $76.91 a barrel at 1119 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 46 cents, or 0.63%, to $74.02.

It seems market participants have started to price in some small supply disruption risks on Iranian crude exports to China, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

In China, Shandong Port Group issued a notice on Monday banning US sanctioned oil vessels from its network of ports, according to three traders, potentially restricting blacklisted vessels from major energy terminals on China's east coast.

Shandong Port Group oversees major ports on China's east coast, including Qingdao, Rizhao and Yantai, which are major terminals for importing sanctioned oil.

Meanwhile, cold weather in the US and Europe has boosted heating oil demand, providing further support for prices.

However, oil price gains were capped by global economic data.

Euro zone inflation

accelerated

in December, an unwelcome but anticipated blip that is unlikely to derail further interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank.

"Higher inflation in Germany raised suggestions that the ECB may not be able to cut rates as fast as hoped across the Eurozone, while US manufactured good orders fell in November," Ashley Kelty, an analyst at Panmure Liberum said.

Technical indicators for oil futures are now in overbought territory, and sellers are keen to step in once again to take advantage of the strength, tempering additional price advances, said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of research at Onyx Capital Group.

Market participants are waiting for more data this week, such as the US December non-farm payrolls report on Friday, for clues on US interest rate policy and the oil demand outlook.