Les actions saoudiennes bondissent de plus de 5% mercredi

Une poussée spectaculaire sur les marchés saoudiens

Les investisseurs ont assisté à une journée exceptionnelle alors que les indices locaux affichaient des gains impressionnants en milieu de semaine. Cette performance notable intervient dans un contexte de volatilité mondiale persistante.

Dynamique de trading

Les volumes d'échanges ont explosé, portés par un optimisme soudain qui a surpris même les analystes les plus chevronnés. Les acheteurs ont dominé la séance, créant un momentum difficile à ignorer pour les observateurs du marché.

Perspectives régionales

Cette forte progression positionne le marché saoudien parmi les meilleurs performants de la région. Les acteurs locaux surveillent maintenant si cette tendance peut se maintenir face aux incertitudes économiques globales.

Comme d'habitude, Wall Street regarde ailleurs - trop occupée à recycler les mêmes vieilles stratégies qui fonctionnent si bien... pour les frais de gestion.

Foreign cap rumors drive massive stock inflows

The potential rule change would open Saudi’s doors wider to foreign capital, especially from index-tracking funds like MSCI and FTSE. If foreign ownership hits 100%, UBS projects that the market could attract between $9.5 billion and $10 billion in passive inflows. Victor Martin, UBS’s head of portfolio trading in EMEA, said those inflows would hit fast once the rules change.

Big names like Saudi Aramco, despite being a symbol of the country’s market power, haven’t been able to hold ground. Its stock is down around 10% year-to-date, part of the broader weakness in large caps.

Mohammed Ali Yasin, the CEO at Ghaf Benefits (under Lunate), pointed out that “even with the 49% cap, foreigners never really cross 15% ownership in most large caps.” But he said expectations are shifting fast.

The momentum is now driven by hopes that foreigners will pour more money into these listed firms once the caps are gone, and not just small stakes. These flows could raise Saudi’s weight in global indices, pushing prices higher, and making the exchange more appealing to big international funds.

This isn’t the first step either. Saudi has already tried to attract foreign investors by launching exchange-traded funds in partnership with Japan and Hong Kong. Another major shift came in January, when regulators gave foreigners the green light to buy listed firms that hold real estate in Mecca and Medina, though the law still blocks direct ownership of land in those two holy cities.

Saudi momentum lifts emerging stocks as Powell pressures currencies

As Saudi’s stocks ripped higher, global markets noticed. The MSCI benchmark for emerging market equities rose 0.4%, extending its winning streak to three days, now sitting at its highest level since July 2021. It wasn’t just Saudi fueling that push.

Alibaba surged to a four-year high after boosting its AI investments, and Tencent followed suit. But the real weight came from the Saudi banks, which dominated Wednesday’s performance.

On the currency side, it was the opposite story. Most emerging market currencies lost ground, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell struck a cautious tone in his comments. The Bloomberg dollar index rose 0.4%, as Powell said the Fed faces a “challenging situation” balancing inflation and labor market risks. That tone crushed bets for a rate cut next month, and investors backed off risk trades.

In eastern Europe, the Polish zloty and neighboring currencies took a hit, dragged down by increased Russia-NATO tensions over reported airspace violations. At the same time, the Thai baht fell after new data showed the country’s export growth hit its slowest pace in almost a year, pressured by U.S. tariffs.

Investors in Czech Republic kept their eyes on the central bank, which was widely expected to hold interest rates steady. A hawkish signal from the board could offer support to the koruna, one of the region’s strongest currencies against both the euro and the dollar so far this year.

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