DUBAI: The main Saudi share index broke through the 10,000 barrier on Wednesday as banking and transportation stocks led gains.
The Tadawul All Share Index was up 0.2 percent 10,011.95 shortly after the market opened.
The Kingdom has introduced a raft of reforms to attract overseas share buyers, which first opened to foreign investors in 2015. Ongoing reforms, a firmer oil price and the rollout of vaccines has helped to boost investor sentiment in the market, which is dominated by retail investors.
Saudi Central Bank Governor Fahad Al-Mubarak on Tuesday said he expected the Kingdom’s economic recovery to be “positive” this year, partly due to rebounding oil prices.
“Even though we’re sacrificing a little bit in the production, however achieving stable oil prices is good for Saudi Arabia, for producers, consumers and for the region,” he said at a virtual event organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Earlier the Fund raised its forecast on Saudi Arabia’s economic growth in 2021 to 2.9 percent, compared to its January’s projections of 2.6 percent.
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