Saudi stocks ended trading on Thursday with a limited rise, amid mixed performance of leading stocks, with the rise of “Saudi Aramco” and gains of a number of companies, compared to a decline in banking stocks and companies linked to the results of the third quarter.
The main market index, TASI, ended Thursday's session up by 0.2 percent, closing at 10,326 points, adding 18 points, amid trades with a total value of about 4.1 billion riyals ($1.09 billion). Saudi Aramco shares rose by 1.5 percent to 26.40 riyals, amid trading of about 12 million shares, with a value exceeding 300 million riyals.
On the other hand, “Al Rajhi Bank” shares declined by 0.6 percent, and “ACWA Power” shares declined by 0.5 percent.
While “UCIC” shares jumped by about 6 percent, after the company announced cash dividends to shareholders, while “Al-Omran,” “Azm,” and “Sadq” shares rose by rates ranging between 5 and 8 percent.
On the other hand, “Raoum” shares topped the declining companies, falling by 8 percent to 73.90 riyals, amid trading of about 2.2 million shares, with a value of 170 million riyals.
Among the stocks linked to the financial results for the third quarter of 2026, “Al-Masafi” shares declined by 4.6 percent, “Lodon” by 3.9 percent, and “Jouf Cement” by 0.7 percent.
The rate of consumer price inflation in India rose to 6.09 percent last October, exceeding the upper limit of the Reserve Bank of India's target range of 6 percent, for the first time, according to the new data series, with rising food prices and their pressure on household budgets, which has strengthened expectations of further increases in interest rates.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected inflation to rise to 5.93 percent in October, compared to 5.54 percent in September.
The rise was mainly driven by food prices, which constitute about 40 percent of India's consumer price index.
Food inflation rose to 8.94 percent in October, compared to 7.74 percent in September, with prices of basic commodities, such as onions, garlic and ginger, increasing.
Inflation has remained above the Reserve Bank of India's medium-term target of 4 percent for five consecutive months, although it last exceeded the upper limit of 6 percent during October 2024, when it recorded 6.2 percent, according to the previous CPI series, which was based on 2012 prices.
Radhika Rao, chief economist and CEO of DBS Bank, said: “These data reinforce our expectations of a second successive increase in interest rates during December,” adding that general inflation has not yet reached its peak.
The rise in inflation last month prompted the Reserve Bank of India to join its global counterparts in raising the main interest rate, known as the repo rate, for the first time in about four years, based on rising inflation expectations and the widening scope of price pressures.
The minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting showed that further increases in interest rates may be necessary to contain inflation, but monetary policy makers avoided supporting a sharp monetary tightening cycle, due to the risks that may face economic growth.
The key interest rate currently stands at 5.50 percent, following the recent increase.
The Reserve Bank of India expects inflation to average 6 percent during the quarter extending from October to December, and it also raised its expectations for the inflation rate during the current fiscal year to 5.2 percent, compared to its previous estimate of 5 percent.
Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra warned that the weak rainy season and the intensification of the El Niño phenomenon may pose risks to the agricultural sector and demand in rural areas, although the abundance of food grain stocks and government measures are expected to limit the impact of these factors.
On the other hand, Brent crude futures fell to about $92 per barrel, which provides some support for inflation expectations, at a time when markets are balancing between hopes of reducing the escalation in the war between the United States and Iran, and fears of attacks on shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Transport cost inflation also accelerated to 5.84 percent in October, compared to 5.01 percent a month ago.
During October, inflationary pressures extended to a wider range of components of the price index, as 19 subgroups, out of 43, recorded inflation at 4 percent or more, compared to 14 groups during September.
Aside from food prices, the rise in inflation was driven by increased costs of transportation, clothing, housing, and catering services.
“Inflation is likely to remain above 6 percent until June 2027,” said Tinai Dalal, economist at Axis Bank. “These numbers increase the risk that interest rates will have to exceed the estimated neutral level of 6 percent.”
The recent inflation data reinforces the challenges facing Indian monetary policy, in light of the need to contain price pressures on the one hand, and avoid negatively affecting economic growth on the other hand.
Anthropic is preparing to go public, in a move that could raise its market value to $1.4 trillion, in the latest indication of Wall Street's continued appetite for investing in artificial intelligence.
The company specializing in developing artificial intelligence, known mainly for the chatbot “Cloud,” along with some of its investors, seeks to raise up to $64.4 billion by selling 825 million shares, at a price of up to $78 per share, according to Reuters.
The company also intends to raise an additional $26 billion through a separate private placement deal, with the participation of major investors. Among them are Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, Nvidia, and Advanced Micro Devices.
SpaceX recorded the largest initial public offering in the history of the United States, with a value of $75 billion last June, surpassing the previous major offerings of Alibaba, Visa, and Facebook, currently known as “Meta Platforms.”
The owners of Anthropic are moving forward with IPO plans, despite the recent wave of decline witnessed in the technology sector, in light of investors’ questions about the potential returns from artificial intelligence technologies, and the impact of high borrowing costs.
“The timing of the offering is particularly important, as investors have become more focused on the costs of expanding artificial intelligence infrastructure, compared to the past few years,” said Ipek Ozkardiskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
She added: “Political and regulatory uncertainty, coupled with rising interest rates, has also raised questions about future spending on artificial intelligence. As a result, many investors see the launch of Anthropic as an important test of the market’s appetite for investments related to artificial intelligence.”
