Trading activity cooled in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, market capitalization increased and Saudi expanded access for foreign investors.

Saudi Arabia’s equity market delivered a mixed performance in the first half of 2026, according to the Saudi Exchange’s latest Statistical Report. Trading activity slowed across key metrics, yet the market’s overall capitalization increased. This comes as regulators continued reforms aiming to broaden investor participation and supporting long-term market development.

Why You Should Care

The report points to a market transitioning from high trading momentum toward structural growth. While investors traded fewer shares and both the Main Market and Parallel Market indices declined year over year, Saudi continued implementing reforms designed to attract a broader investor base and improve market liquidity.

The Details

The Saudi Exchange released its statistical report for the 1st half of 2026. Trading activity declined across nearly every major metric during H1 2026. The total value of shares traded fell to USD 164.42 billion (SAR 616.6B), down 10.4% from the same period a year earlier. The number of executed trades also declined 11.8% year over year to 52.69 million, while average daily trading volume increased 9.5% to 133.3 million shares.

At the same time, Saudi’s equity market capitalization reached USD 2.52 trillion (SAR 9.44T) at the end of H1 2026, representing a 3.4% increase compared with the first half of 2025.

Market performance weakened across both major equity indices. The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) closed H1 at 10,799.92 points, down 3.26% year over year. Meanwhile the Nomu Parallel Market Index ended the period at 23,051.10 points, a 15.69% decline over the same period in 2025.

Beyond market performance, Saudi introduced one of its most significant capital market reforms in recent years. Beginning in February 2026, the Kingdom opened its Main Market to all categories of foreign investors by removing the Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI) framework. The reform aims to expand and diversify the investor base, attract more investment inflows, and improve market liquidity.

The report also showed the Tadawul IPO Index ended the first half of the year up 0.35%. This indicates modest gains among recently listed companies despite broader market weakness.

The Ripple

Taken together, the data suggests Saudi’s equity market is entering a new phase. Trading activity softened in H1 2026, but the market’s overall value continued to grow. Meanwhile, regulatory reforms focused on expanding participation and strengthening the market’s long-term foundations.

What to Watch

The impact of broader foreign investor access will become clearer in the second half of 2026. Future trading activity and capital flows will provide a better indication of how the latest reforms influence market participation and liquidity over time.