Foreigners sold net $624m of Saudi stocks in week to Oct 25

Foreigners sold a net SAR2.34bn ($624m) in the Saudi stock market in the week ending October 25, but the bourse was supported by local institutions which bought SAR8.06bn worth of stocks, stock exchange data showed.

The foreign selling slowed from a record SAR4.01bn in Saudi stocks in the previous week when investors were jolted by the kingdom’s deteriorating relations with foreign powers following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Read: Foreigners sold net $1.1bn of Saudi stocks in week to Oct 18

The data did not break down the names of Saudi institutions supporting the market, but Reuters reported last week that the Public Investment Fund has been indirectly supporting local stocks, using local institutions, to limit a market crash caused by the killing of Khashoggi.

Read: Saudi’s PIF supports stocks to limit Khashoggi crash

The Saudi stock market is up about 8 per cent year-to-date although has weakened in this quarter.

The market started to weaken before the Khashoggi incident as foreign funds slowed their buying after MSCI’s announcement in June that the kingdom will be included in its global emerging market benchmark next year.

Read: Saudi added to MSCI emerging markets index, huge inflows expected