Tadawul’s weekly market cap declines SAR 50B; foreign ownership at 4.72%

The market capitalization of Tadawul fell 0.52% week-on-week to about SAR 9.44 trillion in the week ended July 2, a decline of SAR 49.8 billion. The drop came as the Tadawul All Share Index moved lower during the period.

Foreign ownership of Tadawul-listed stocks slipped to 4.72% from 4.74% the prior week. The change is small. It follows a period where foreign holdings had stayed above 4.7% for several weeks. Earlier this year, foreign funds pulled SAR 472 million from TASI in a single week, a move covered in a previous AlphaScala analysis. That outflow was followed by renewed buying that pushed ownership higher.

The market cap decline was broad-based, with the main index giving back some of its recent gains. Saudi equities have been sensitive to oil price moves. Crude edged lower during the same week. The Tadawul remains one of the best-performing emerging markets year-to-date. The pace of gains has slowed.

Tadawul's inclusion in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in 2019 has steadily increased foreign participation. The current foreign ownership level of 4.72% is still below the levels seen in other emerging markets. The trend has been upward.

The next weekly data release will show whether the decline continues or stabilizes.