TASI up 200 points amid firm global cues

Saudi Arabian equities surged over 2.3 percent on Wednesday, driven by firm cues from global markets following US President Donald Trump hinting at the possibility of a trade deal with China in the future.

By 11:00 am Riyadh local time, Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) was up 206 points at 8,556 , with gainers outweighing losers by 172:4.

The market closed in positive territory on Tuesday after global index provider MSCI Inc. on Monday said it will add 30 Saudi Arabian securities, representing an aggregate weight of 1.42 percent, in the MSCI EM index as of the close on May 28.   

“It is more of a pull pack after nearly 1,000 points fall in the index in the first two weeks of May. Many investors and traders alike will look at this as an opportunity to enter stocks at lower levels which will benefit from the upcoming MSCI first tranche flows,” Nishit Lakhotia, Head of Research, SICO Bank, told Argaam

Petchem major SABIC rose nearly 2 percent to SAR 114.20, while banking heavyweight Al Rajhi gained 3.3 percent to SAR 69.10.

National Gypsum was the top gainer, rising 7.5 percent to SAR 11.48.

Market analysts told Argaam earlier that the inclusion of Tadawul, the Middle East's largest exchange, in MSCI EM index this month will have a positive impact for regional markets.

Read: Here’s what analysts are saying about Tadawul’s MSCI inclusion

Globally, Asian stocks rebounded from a three-month low. On the Wall Street, the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.8 percent to 2,834 points on Tuesday, while the Nasdaq composite index was up 1.1 percent to 7,734.49.

Write to Parag Deulgaonkar at parag.d@argaamplus.com