Tadawul demonstrated a mixed performance in 3Q 2025, characterized by cooling equity trading volumes, continued resilience in foreign inflows, and a shift in debt issuance activity, according to the Capital Market Authority’s (CMA) latest quarterly bulletin (pdf). The main market and the parallel market saw benchmarks and daily turnover retreat from previous highs, reflecting broader market cooling after a strong 2Q, while the equity IPO window remained active.

Tadawul’s benchmark index TASI averaged 11.5k points in 3Q, down from 12.2k points a year earlier. The value traded on the main market came in at SAR 326 bn, compared to SAR 445.8 bn in 3Q 2024, while the average daily turnover eased to SAR 5 bn from SAR 6.9 bn. Meanwhile, Tadawul’s overall market capitalization slipped to SAR 9.3 tn, down from SAR 10.1 tn a year ago.

Nomu also cooled from last year’s highs: The parallel market basically flattened at 25.47k points in 3Q 2025, with its total value traded coming in at SAR 2.05 bn, lower than the SAR 2.98 bn recorded in 3Q 2024. The average daily turnover on the parallel market reached SAR 31.5 mn in 3Q, slipping from SAR 45.9 mn a year earlier.

ON EQUITY-

Tadawul’s main and parallel markets saw eight IPOs in the third quarter, worth a total SAR 2.36 bn, an increase from five in the same quarter last year. The initial market cap of newly listed companies totaled SAR 8.26 bn, a sharp 4.6x increase from a year earlier (SAR 1.79 bn). However, this momentum cooled off from a stronger 2Q, which saw 13 companies go public, raising SAR 25.6 bn.

In the pipeline: The CMA approved four IPOs on the main market in 3Q 2025 versus one on the parallel market. Another 35 IPOs are currently under review, including 16 on the main market and 19 on Nomu.

Local investors accounted for 94.4% of total ownership by value, while foreign investors held 4.8%, while GCC investors accounted for only 0.8%. Institutional ownership remained flat in 3Q, accounting for 95.15% of total market ownership.

It’s a different picture for trading: Local investors accounted for 62% of total trading in 3Q, followed by foreigners at 36%.

IN CONTEXT- Saudi equities kept pulling in foreign capital in 3Q even as local trading volumes softened. Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of SAR 10.1 bn last quarter, the strongest quarterly intake this year, backed by expectations that Tadawul will ease foreign ownership limits before year-end.

THE DEBT WATCH-

Private over public: The public debt market remained inactive in 3Q 2025, with no SAR-denominated public debt issuances recorded, unchanged from the same quarter last year. The activity was concentrated entirely in private placements, where seven issuers completed 16 offerings, raising a combined SAR 4.2 bn, down sharply from SAR 15.89 bn across four issuers and nine offerings in 3Q 2024.

Meanwhile, the non-SAR debt market picked up, with total issuance rising to SAR 6.04 bn from SAR 2.39 bn a year earlier. Private placements also accounted for all activity, with 17 issuers completing 18 offerings worth SAR 5.42 bn, alongside one government issuance of SAR 619 mn.

ALSO- Total assets under management (AUM) across Saudi investment funds rose to SAR 217.86 bn in 3Q, significantly up from SAR 160.09 bn in 3Q 2024. The growth was driven primarily by money market funds, which climbed to SAR 71.58 bn from SAR 44.87 bn a year earlier. Meanwhile, fixed-income funds also increased to SAR 30.36 bn, up from SAR 22.24 bn in 3Q last year.

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