Saudi Tadawul Index Ends Flat as Tumbling Oil Prices Pressure Market

Saudi Arabia's stock market closed nearly flat on Monday, with the benchmark Tadawul All Share (TASI) index managing a marginal gain despite a significant drop in global oil prices. Strength in the agriculture, retail, and utilities sectors helped counterbalance broader negative sentiment, according to data from Investing.com.

Market Performance

The Tadawul All Share index ended the session up just 0.02%. However, the market's underlying breadth was negative, indicating broader weakness, as declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones by a margin of 174 to 135, with 29 issues closing unchanged. The resilience of the headline index was largely due to targeted gains in the Agriculture & Food, Retail, and Energy & Utilities sectors.

Sector Standouts and Laggards

A handful of companies posted significant moves, highlighting the day's mixed trading activity.

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• Top Gainers: Tabuk Agriculture Development Co (TADAWUL:6040) was the day's best performer, surging 10.00%. It was followed by Dar Albalad for Business Solutions (TADAWUL:7205), which added 5.96%, and Power and Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu (TADAWUL:2083), which rose 5.22%.
• Top Losers: Weighing on the market were Arabian Cement Co (TADAWUL:3010), which fell 5.87%, and Arabian Drilling Co (TADAWUL:2381), which declined 3.94%.

Oil Sell-Off Creates Headwinds

The lackluster performance on the Tadawul came as energy markets, a critical driver for the Saudi economy, faced intense selling pressure. Crude oil futures for September delivery plunged 5.91% to $84.03 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent crude fell more than 5% to trade around $87.06 a barrel.

In currency markets, the Saudi Riyal remained stable against the U.S. dollar, with the USD/SAR pair unchanged at 3.75, consistent with its currency peg. The broader US Dollar Index Futures saw a slight dip of 0.05%.