Closing Bell: GCC stock markets up in wake of Trump’s election win

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index finished 0.31 percent up on Thursday. Shutterstock
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Updated 07 November 2024
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Closing Bell: GCC stock markets up in wake of Trump’s election win

RIYADH: Following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, stock markets across the Gulf Cooperation Council saw a strong rally.

Markets posted gains, with Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index finishing 0.31 percent up to close at 12,130.80 points on Thursday. This came after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated Trump on winning the election in a phone call on Wednesday, according to the Saudi News Agency.

Dubai’s Financial Market mirrored the upward momentum, climbing 0.60 percent. Abu Dhabi’s Securities Exchange also saw a lift, finishing the day up 0.44 percent.

Bahrain’s Bourse recorded a rise of 0.52 percent, while Kuwait’s main market similarly rose, closing with a 0.10 percent gain.

However, the Muscat Securities Market in Oman saw a 0.17 percent decrease, while the Qatar Stock Exchange was closed for a public holiday. 

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index on TASI was SR7.53 billion ($2 billion) as 113 of the listed stocks advanced, while 111 retreated.   

Similarly, the MSCI Tadawul Index increased by 2.03 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 1,521.79.

The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu also climbed by 415.36 points, or 1.44 percent, to close at 29,269.00. This comes as 49 of the listed stocks advanced while as many as 22 retreated.

The best-performing stock of the day was Rasan Information Technology Co., whose share price surged by 7.13 percent to SR78.10.

Other top performers include Miahona Co., and Theeb Rent a Car Co., with Miahona’s share price climbing 6.75 percent to SR29.25 and Theeb’s rising 6.59 percent to SR79.30.

Naseej International Trading Co. and Al Moammar Information Systems Co. also posted rises.

The worst performer was Saudi Arabian Mining Co., whose share price dropped by 4.09 percent to SR53.90.

Other worst performers were Abdulmohsen Alhokair Group for Tourism and Development, whose share price fell by 3.18 percent to SR2.74, and ACWA Power Co., which saw a 2.95 percent drop to SR441.20.

On an announcement front, ACWA Power Co. announced its results for interim financial results for the first nine months of 2024, ending on Sept. 30, with revenues surging by 13.3 percent to reach SR1.74 billion, compared to SR1.542 billion in 2023.

The increase was primarily driven by higher revenue from electricity sales, operation and maintenance services, and additional income from development projects and construction management, the company said on Tadawul. 

BinDawood Holding Co. also disclosed its financial results for the third quarter, with revenues slightly increasing by 0.189 percent to reach SR1.361 compared to the same quarter last year.

The company closed Thursday’s trading session at SR7.02, a 0.29 percent increase.

Saudi Steel Pipe Co. also released its financial results for the nine months of the year, recording SR381 million in revenues, a 20.18 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The company closed today’s trading session at SR71.40, decreasing by 1.27 percent.

The United International Transportation Co. disclosed a 37.052 percent increase in revenues for the first nine months to reach SR505.8 million, compared to SR369.07 million during the same period last year.

This was primarily driven by the expansion of a long-term lease fleet and the resulting higher lease revenues.

The company closed at SR84, with its stock valie declining by 1.55 percent.


Saudi Arabia non-oil exports hit 8-year high, driven by machinery and electrical parts

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Saudi Arabia non-oil exports hit 8-year high, driven by machinery and electrical parts

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports have surged to their highest quarterly level since 2017, reaching SR97.5 billion ($25.9 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to official data.

Figures released by the General Authority for Statistics showed a 114 percent increase compared to eight years earlier, and an 18.6 percent growth year on year.

The machinery, electrical equipment and parts sector emerged as the top performer in the final three months of 2025, accounting for 23.2 percent of total non-oil exports and a 78.6 percent increase year on year. 

The rise in non-oil exports underscores progress under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program, which aims to diversify the economy by reducing reliance on crude oil revenues and increase the contribution of non-oil exports to non-oil gross domestic product to 50 percent by 2030.

GASTAT’s data showed that the Kingdom’s ratio of non-oil exports to imports increased to 39.4 percent in the final quarter of 2025, up from 34.8 percent a year earlier.

Chemical products, the second-largest non-oil export category, saw a decline of 6.9 percent in the final quarter of 2025 compared to the prior-year quarter, and a 13 percent drop in December versus a year earlier.

While total merchandise exports increased by 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025, oil exports grew at a slower pace of 3.5 percent. 

As a result, oil’s share of total exports fell to 67.5 percent, down from 70.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, re-exports surged by 67.4 percent during the quarter, with machinery and electrical equipment making up nearly half of that total.

The Kingdom’s merchandise trade surplus expanded by 26.3 percent in the last three months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, supported by a 4.7 percent increase in imports. In December alone, the trade surplus rose by 7.1 percent year on year.

China continued to be Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner in both exports and imports. 

In the last quarter of 2025, China accounted for 13.1 percent of total Saudi exports and 27.2 percent of imports. Japan followed as the second-largest export destination in December, narrowly edging out China with an 11.7 percent share.

Other key export destinations included the UAE, India, South Korea, and the US. On the import side, the US and the UAE ranked second and third, respectively.

King Abdulaziz Seaport in Dammam remained the Kingdom’s primary gateway for imports, handling 25.1 percent of all inbound goods in the last quarter of 2025. For non-oil exports, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah was the leading outlet, accounting for 16 percent of the total.