RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Thursday, gaining 43.82 points, or 0.36 percent, to close at 12,256.06. 

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR6.14 billion ($1.63 billion), with 104 stocks advancing and 129 retreating. 

Similarly, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 198.90 points, or 0.64 percent, to close at 31,498.71, as 51 of the listed stocks advanced and 37 retreated. 

The MSCI Tadawul Index also rose, gaining 9.13 points, or 0.60 percent, to close at 1,535.78.

The best-performing stock of the day was Shatirah House Restaurant Co., which debuted on the main market. Its share price surged 5.31 percent to SR22.62. 

Other top performers included Fourth Milling Co., with its share price rising 4.49 percent to SR4.19, and Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co., whose share price surged 3.36 percent to SR67.70. 

Riyadh Cables Group Co. recorded the biggest drop, falling 2.88 percent to SR141.80. 

National Co. for Learning and Education also saw its stock price fall 2.73 percent to SR185.40. 

Buruj Cooperative Insurance Co. also saw a drop in its stock price, falling 2.63 percent to SR22.22. 

On the announcements front, the Arab National Bank has launched the offer of its SR-denominated additional tier 1 capital sukuk under its sukuk program.  

According to a Tadawul statement, the amount, terms, and return on the sukuk will be determined later based on market conditions. The minimum subscription and par value are set at SR1 million. 

The targeted investors are institutional and qualified clients in line with the Capital Market Authority’s regulations. HSBC Saudi Arabia and ANB Capital Co. are joint lead managers for the sukuk issuance. 

Arab National Bank ended the session at SR21.10, with no change in price. 

Tam Development Co. received a purchase order for a project worth SR29.45 million as part of a framework agreement with a government agency announced in March, with a total value of SR200 million. 

Tam Development Co. ended the session at SR200, up 3.45 percent. 

Saudi Real Estate Co. secured Shariah-compliant banking facilities from Bank Al-Jazira worth SR700 million. The facilities will finance ongoing and new projects, as well as expansion investments. 

Part of the financing, up to SR100 million, will support working capital requirements. The loans have a one-year short-term tenure and a maximum of ten years for long-term loans, with promissory notes and real estate mortgages as guarantees. 

Saudi Real Estate Co. ended the session at SR27.30, down 2.01 percent. 

RIYADH: Oil production and large investment projects will accelerate annual economic growth across the Middle East and North Africa by 0.8 percentage points in 2025, according to Moody’s.

The global credit rating agency forecasts growth of 2.9 percent this year, up from 2.1 percent in 2024, and also  maintained a stable outlook for the credit fundamentals of sovereigns in the region over the next 12 months.

The agency emphasized that the impact of large investments will be most evident in Saudi Arabia, driven by high government and sovereign wealth fund spending linked to the Vision 2030 diversification program.

The projections align with those of global consultancy Oxford Economics, which expects regional gross domestic product to grow by 3.6 percent in 2025, outpacing the firm’s global forecast of 2.8 percent. 

Moody’s added that the pickup in the MENA economy will be driven primarily by “stronger growth in the region’s hydrocarbon exporters because of a partial unwinding of strategic oil production cuts under the OPEC+ agreement.”

Alexander Perjessy, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s, said: “Large-scale investment projects, many of them part of longer-term government development and diversification agendas, will support non-hydrocarbon economic activity across the region.”

According to the credit rating agency, real gross domestic product growth for hydrocarbon-exporting nations is expected to rise to 3.5 percent in 2025, up from 1.9 percent in the previous year, as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, and Oman ease the oil production cuts implemented in 2023.

In Qatar, growth in the small, gas-rich nation will be bolstered by the development of the petrochemical industry and construction activities related to the expansion of liquefied natural gas production capacity, set to come online between 2026 and 2030.

In Kuwait, non-hydrocarbon growth will be mainly driven by major projects, including the construction of a new port and a new airport terminal.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s non-hydrocarbon growth is expected to remain above pre-COVID levels, provided that improved domestic security conditions are sustained, driven by the gradual implementation of several transport and energy projects.

In the UAE, non-hydrocarbon growth will moderate slightly due to the completion of some infrastructure projects; however, it will remain robust, at around 5 percent in 2025.