RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s benchmark stock index rose 6.6 percent in the first four months of 2026, making it the second-best performer in the Gulf after Oman, according to Kamco Invest.
The Tadawul All Share Index, a key gauge of investor sentiment in the Kingdom, extended gains despite global volatility, supported by strong corporate earnings and ongoing economic reforms tied to Vision 2030.
Saudi Arabia trailed only Oman, whose benchmark surged 42.7 percent over the same period, while most other Gulf Cooperation Council markets posted mid- to low-single-digit declines, Kamco said.
Despite global volatility and regional tensions, strong earnings and ongoing reforms have helped position the market as one of the more resilient in the GCC.
“Trading activity on the (Saudi) exchange strengthened in April-2026 with total value traded surging by 20.5 percent to reach a seven-month high level of SR125.1 billion ($33.35 billion) compared to SR103.8 billion in March-2026,” said Kamco Invest.
It added: “The total volume improved 38.4 percent to reach SR6.7 billion shares compared to SR4.8 billion in March-2026.”
While TASI posted a marginal 0.6 percent decline in April compared to March, amid profit-taking and regional geopolitical tensions, the Kingdom’s equity market continued to demonstrate resilience backed by robust corporate earnings and sector-specific gains.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index witnessed the biggest monthly increase in the GCC, recording a 6.1 percent gain in April, followed by Kuwait Exchange at 5.3 percent, Qatar Exchange at 2.9 percent and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange at 2.7 percent.
The monthly sector performance chart of the GCC showed broad-based gains across sectors, with only the healthcare, food and beverages and retailing indices in the red with low single-digit declines, while the transportation and diversified financials indices showed increases of over 9 percent.
Global equity markets witnessed a sharp recovery during April, more than offsetting the year-to-date declines during the first quarter.
The MSCI World index rose 10 percent during the month, the biggest monthly gain in more than five years, backed by a 14.5 percent gain in shares of the emerging markets index that was further supported by a 9.5 percent gain for the global advanced markets index.
“GCC equity markets underperformed the global rally during April, although the index registered gains after two consecutive months of declines. The MSCI GCC index witnessed a marginal gain of 0.4 percent during the month, reflecting broad-based gains in the region,” said Kamco Invest.
