DUBAI: Signs of progress toward settling cases in Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on corruption boosted its stock market on Sunday.
The Saudi index far outperformed the rest of the region as it rose 1.4 percent to 7,440 points in active trade, rising above last September’s peak of 7,429 points.
Dozens of Saudi princes, officials and top businessmen — including owners of major stakes in some firms — were detained as part of the crackdown in early November. The market’s initial panic has faded, but investors are still concerned about the fate of some of the companies involved.
On Saturday, family-owned construction giant Saudi Binladin Group, which has seen its chairman and several other members of the Bin Laden family detained, said some of its shareholders might transfer part of their holdings to the state in a settlement with authorities.
The announcement, which confirmed an earlier Reuters report, boosted banking shares on Sunday with all 12 listed banks rising. Saudi British Bank jumped 4.6 percent.
A Saudi banker said the Binladin news appeared positive for the sector in the short term because state ownership might help the recovery of financially troubled Binladin, ensuring that payments to its bank creditors continued.
However, the banker added that it remained unclear whether banks would benefit in the long term, as restructuring Binladin could also involve a restructuring of its debt or more pressure on banks to make provisions or write off some debt.
Saudi stocks boosted by Binladin progress
Saudi stocks boosted by Binladin progress
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 11,183
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Monday, losing 44.79 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 11,183.85.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.05 billion ($1.08 billion), as 69 of the listed stocks advanced, while 191 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 6.63 points or 0.44 percent, to close at 1,504.73.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 328.20 points, or 1.36 percent, to close at 23,764.92. This comes as 22 of the listed stocks advanced, while 49 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Maharah Human Resources Co., with its share price surging by 7.26 percent to SR6.50.
Other top performers included Arabian Cement Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.27 percent to SR22.71, and Saudi Research and Media Group, which saw a 4.3 percent increase to SR104.30.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co., whose share price fell by 8.01 percent to SR207.80.
Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology and Al-Rajhi Co. for Cooperative Insurance also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 5.61 percent and 4.46 percent to SR12.79 and SR75, respectively.
On the announcement front, Etihad Etisalat Co. announced its financial results for 2025 with a 7.9 percent year-on-year growth in its revenues, to reach SR19.6 billion.
In a Tadawul statement, Mobily said that this growth is attributed to “the expansion of all revenue streams, with a healthy growth in the overall subscriber base.”
Mobily delivered an 11.6 percent increase in net profit, reaching SR3.4 billion in 2025 compared to SR3.1 billion in 2024.
The company’s share price reached SR67.85, marking a 0.37 percent increase on the main market.
