Asia Markets
Tadawul Shares Start Week Higher; Saudi Arabia's March Industrial Production Declines
The Tadawul All Share Index started the week 0.76% higher as investors assessed Saudi Arabia's latest economic data and earnings reports.Official preliminary data from Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics showed that the industrial production index dropped 14.1% year over year in March. Month over month, industrial production fell 22.3%."The index of oil activities decreased by 20.0% in March 2026 compared to the same month of the previous year, while the index of non-oil activities remained stable at a level close to its performance in the same period of the previous year. The results also indicated that the index of oil activities decreased by 30.8% while the index of non-oil activities increased by 1.4% compared to February 2026," the statistics agency said in its report.Speaking of economic releases, the local calendar will see the release of the kingdom's inflation and wholesale prices data for April on Thursday.In other news, investors are focusing on the latest updates regarding the operations of the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle Eastern conflict. Reuters reported that the US is waiting for Iran's response regarding its proposal to end the war.Back at home, a slew of earnings dominated headlines as several companies published their first-quarter financial statements. The bourse's biggest company, Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (SASE:2222), d/b/a Saudi Aramco, ticked up 0.81% as it posted a 25.553% increase in net profit and a 6.766% climb in revenue.Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co. (SASE:2223), d/b/a Luberef, also posted higher attributable profit and revenue in the March quarter. Acwa Power (SASE:2082), however, reported a decline in its profit for the three months ended March 31.Acwa Power closed 1.65% higher, while Luberef shares closed 0.17% lower.
^TASISASE:2082SASE:2222SASE:2223
