GCC Equities Review: Investors pile into Saudi stocks after upgrades, but does the market still offer value? | ZAWYA MENA Edition

GCC Equities Review: Investors pile into Saudi stocks after upgrades, but does the market still offer value? | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

The 15.1 percent gain made by the Tadawul All Share Index in the first half of 2018 meant that the market not only outperformed its regional peers, but was one of the top-performers globally.

“It’s one of the three best markets in the world in terms of performance in the first six months,” Mazen Al Sudairi, the head of research at Riyadh-based Al Rajhi Capital, told Zawya in a telephone interview.

Al-Sudairi attributed the gains to two main factors – the 19.3 percent increase in oil prices experienced over the first six months, and the twin boosts that exchange bosses received from index compilers FTSE Russell and MSCI – both of whom have announced that they will upgrade Tadawul to emerging market status next year.