Saudi Arabia's Tadawul surges on THE LINE launch

RIYADH — The launch of THE LINE hyper-connected city at NEOM zone has produced an electrifying impact on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) on Monday, resulting in a big jump in the main stock market indexes reaching 8869.47 points, a new level it had not achieved for more than a year, amid trades worth SR9 billion ($ 2.4 billion).

The number of stocks traded reached more than 301 million, divided by more than 394,000 transactions, in which the shares of 119 companies recorded an increase in their value.

The jump in the shares of listed companies comes as the launch of THE LINE confirms that the government, under the stewardship of the Crown Prince, continues to push ahead with giant development projects and continue the economic transformation movement, keeping pace with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 despite all the challenges and crises that surround the world, the latest of which was the coronavirus pandemic.

THE LINE project also represents a favorable opportunity for companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange to benefit from the giant project, especially as they have all the industrial, production and service capabilities necessary in the vital areas that fall under NEOM’s concern, such as energy, food, entertainment, media, manufacturing, education, and health.

Shares of Al-Samaani, the Red Sea, and Tabuk Cement were the highest gainers, while those of the major cement companies were the most active in value.

On the other hand, the Saudi Parallel Stock Index (Nomu) also posted a jump of 135.01 points to close at 24877.7 points, with trades amounting to SR56 million, while the number of shares traded reached more than 406,000, divided among 1308 deals.