TASI Drops 9.2% in 9 Months as Foreigners Sell SAR 4.33 Billion
The TASI index ended the first nine months of 2026 down 9.2% year-on-year at 10.4 thousand points, with foreign companies selling a net of around SAR 4.33 billion in September.
The Saudi TASI index ended the first nine months of 2026 down 9.2% year-on-year at 10.4 thousand points, trading near its lowest level since April after declining by nearly 10% from its previous peak, according to the nine-month performance report cited by the EnterpriseAM platform.
September was the harshest month, as the index fell 6.2% month-on-month, recording its lowest monthly close of the year. The value of trades during the nine months dropped 11.8% to SAR 894.25 billion, and the number of transactions decreased 13.5% to 79.5 million deals, while market capitalization slipped 2.1% to SAR 9.12 trillion.
Foreign institutions were net sellers of around SAR 4.33 billion in September. Fardeen Akhtar, assistant portfolio manager at Alkhair Capital, stated that foreign institutions accounted for about 37.2% of purchases and 42.6% of sales during the month. Economist Ahmad Chreim described the foreign selling as modest given the absence of stable inflows since the market opening in February.
The report attributed the decline to the rise in geopolitical risk premiums on Saudi equities, the Saudi Central Bank raising interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.50%, and weak post-IPO stock performance. Akhtar considers that TASI, excluding Aramco, trades at around 17.9 times earnings, and that the market has become more reasonable following the correction, although it remains selectively attractive rather than entirely cheap, while expecting stability accompanied by volatility in the fourth quarter.
What Do These Terms Mean?
TASI Index: The main index of the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul), which measures the performance of the largest listed companies and serves as a benchmark for capital direction in the market.
Market Capitalization: The total value of listed companies in the market, calculated by multiplying the stock price by the number of shares, reflecting total market size.
Net Foreign Inflows: The difference between foreign investors' purchases and sales, resulting in net selling when sales exceed purchases.
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