TASI logged its biggest monthly losses this year in April

Tadawul’s benchmark index TASI logged its biggest monthly losses this year in April, closing down 2.94% at 11.67k points, according to monthly market data. Trading activity saw 6.5 bn shares exchanged across 12 mn transactions, generating a total value of nearly SAR 126 bn. TASI’s market capitalization stood at SAR 9.5 tn.

Top movers: Construction company Zamil Industrial’s share price was up 27.98%, followed by Electrical Industries Company (+17.16%). Meanwhile, Derayah’s share price fell 19.97% in April, followed by Batic (-17.14%), and real estate firm Banan (-13.93 %).

Banking and energy stocks saw the highest turnover, with Al Rajhi Bank leading the value charts (SAR 9 bn), followed by Aramco (SAR 6 bn) and Umm Al Qura for Development and Construction (SAR 4.6 bn).

MEANWHILE- Foreign investors were net sellers on Tadawul’s main market last month. International investors logged roughly SAR 1.6 bn in net sales, dragging their total ownership in Tadawul down 3.3% m-o-m to SAR 416.6 bn in April, according to the exchange’s monthly ownership and trading activity report (pdf).

Local investors took a bullish turn in April: Local investors were net buyers of Saudi equities last month, with net purchases worth nearly SAR 1.6 bn largely driven by retail investor participation. Saudi buyers still saw their ownership shedding 4.2% m-o-m to SAR 9.02 tn, compared to SAR 9.4 tn in March.

Regional investors were also bullish on Tadawul-listed stocks, recording net purchases of SAR 15 mn, despite their position losing 0.9% in value compared to March, settling at SAR 73.8 bn.

OVER ON THE PARALLEL MARKET- Local investors were the only net buyers on Nomu last month, with net purchases worth SAR 8.2 mn, while foreign investors recorded a net selling positions of SAR 8.2 mn.