Saudi Index Gains 3.43% Amid Diplomatic Moves Between Riyadh and Tehran
Key Facts
Saudi Arabia’s broad market index rose 3.43% in Monday’s session, October 26, closing at 9,761.78 points after adding 323.28 points, its biggest daily gain in more than 13 months, according to Arab News. The gains came on a day when senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met Iranian officials in Tehran, Reuters reported. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said the visit aimed to open channels for negotiations to prevent a return to military escalation. But the index’s move in the session does not prove that the talks caused the rise, and figures for Gulf stock market performance in Tuesday’s session, October 27, are not available here. The diplomatic developments place market movements in a sensitive regional context without, by themselves, determining the direction of risks or their effect on trading.
Gains broadened across the Saudi market: trading volume exceeded 342 million shares, worth about 5.18 billion riyals, and shares of 259 companies rose while 8 declined, according to Arab News. The figures show how widely gains were spread across companies in Monday’s session, one day after a sharp drop. On Sunday, October 25, the index fell 2.65% to 9,438.50 points, with only 30 stocks rising and 348 falling. The shift from a broad decline to a widespread advance in the following session came amid clear volatility in market performance. This comparison alone is not enough to attribute the reversal to any one factor.
The diplomatic track coincided with other moves in regional markets. In the October 26 session, Dubai’s market rose 0.3% and Abu Dhabi’s gained 0.6%, according to a Reuters summary published by Investfy. In oil markets, Brent crude closed at $115.81 a barrel, down 0.8%, while West Texas Intermediate closed at $101.76, down 1.46%, according to Reuters data cited by Euronext. The divergence between gains in some stock markets and falling crude shows that trading did not move in a single direction on the same day. Saudi Arabia and Singapore had announced plans to establish arrangements to store Saudi crude in Jurong’s rock caverns, with storage operations expected to begin in the second half of 2027 to strengthen supply reliability to Southeast Asia.
Reuters said the Tehran meeting, held on Monday, October 26, was the first high-level contact between Iran and the three countries since they signed a mutual defense agreement in August 2026. Saudi Arabia was represented by Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkey by intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said the visit aimed to “open channels for negotiations to prevent a return to military escalation.” Iranian media reported that the four countries agreed at the end of the meetings to continue talks to strengthen cooperation on peace and security. The contacts thus moved to a high official level, with a stated commitment to continue dialogue.
The agenda, according to a Pakistani security official cited by Reuters, included U.S.-Iran talks, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. An Iranian official said the nuclear file would not be raised at Monday’s meeting before Tehran’s demands to end the war were met. In Cairo, Egypt’s parliament authorized the army to provide assistance in defending Saudi Arabia, while Turkey was still working to ratify the Mecca agreement and Pakistan had approved it the previous week. These developments show negotiations unfolding alongside security and defense issues that remain on the table. Iranian media said the parties agreed to continue talks, without specifying a new date.
An economic calendar page lists the release of Saudi GDP data for the third quarter on November 1, 2026, and shows -4.70% as the previous reading for the second quarter. The page does not support a forecast for the next reading, so it does not verify the figure included in the initial draft. The listed date remains the next available economic milestone on the calendar. In the nearer term, attention will turn to whether the Tehran talks produce measurable steps to reduce shipping and energy risks. Security developments, including the Houthi attacks cited in the meeting agenda, remain part of the regional context surrounding markets.