Saudi stocks close worst year in a decade

11% selloff in Tadawul All Share Index caused by a 17% drop in Brent crude prices

- 

In a year that saw emerging-market equities roar back to life, Saudi Arabia stocks were left far behind. Investors say don't count on next year to be much different.

They see little reason to buy Saudi stocks, with oil prices in the doldrums and likely to keep falling next year with commodities trader Trafigura predicting a “super glut.” Citigroup Inc. analysts recommend investors underweight Saudi stocks and say the shares have “screened poorly” on earnings growth and momentum.

“Saudi stocks remain rather unappealing,” said Nenad Dinic, an EM equity strategist at Bank Julius Baer & Co. “First, the Saudi stock market is closely tied to oil prices that could stay soft in 2026; second, it doesn’t get a boost from a weakening dollar as most other EM plays do.”