Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index bounced back on Monday, rising 0.27 per cent to round off the day at 8,381.97 a day before its inclusion on the MSCI Emerging Market Index.
One of the best-performing regional markets, the Tadawul has decline 11 per cent since May 1. Overall gains from the beginning of the year have halved to 7.09 per cent.
The MSCI said it will add the Tadawul to the emerging market index at the close of trading on May 28 with a weight of 1.42 per cent, the highest in the region.
About 30 Saudi stocks will be added in the first tranche, the MSCI said in a statement. The second step will come in the August 2019 Quarterly Index Review.
“Saudi Arabia has an exciting reform and growth story to tell and its inclusion [on] the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a significant milestone,” Bassel Khatoun, managing director (Frontier and MENA) at Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity, told Gulf News.
“Its emerging markets status reflects the wide-ranging capital market reforms it has made over the last few years to bring its equity market infrastructure in line with international standards,” Khatoun added. “Its inclusion in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is another positive step in broadening and deepening the kingdom’s equity market and signals a major shift in the way global investors will view the country’s stock market.”
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) general index closed 0.26 per cent lower at 2,575.04.
Dubai Islamic Bank closed 0.60 per cent higher at Dh5.05 while Emirates NBD closed half a per cent lower at Dh11 and Damac Properties shed 1.47 per cent to close at Dh0.870.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index closed 0.09 per cent higher at 4,779.22 on a day that saw Dana Gas rise 2.74 per cent to close at Dh0.98.
The Kuwait All Share Index gained 0.66 per cent to end at 5,628.67 while the Bahrain index ended 0.20 per cent higher at 1,413.12.
The Muscat MSM 30 index was down 0.16 per cent to close at 3,864.65.
