Most Important News

1. US Plans Unprecedented Economic Isolation of Iran;
2. Petro Rabigh Appoints Hassan Al Yami as CEO;
3. Maaden Secures First US$1 Billion International Syndicated Facilities;
4. Nevada Approves Robotaxis From Tesla, Waymo and Uber;

US stocks snapped recent losses Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI.US) rose 0.98% to 53,277.01, marking its biggest one-day gain since May. The NASDAQ(IXIC.US) and S&P 500 index(SPX.US) each advanced 0.43%, closing at 26,180.45 and 7,674.37, respectively.

At the close of 23/08/2026, the Tadawul All Shares Index(TASI.SA) rose by 1.13%, closing at 11078.68 points; the Parallel Market Capped Index (NomuC)(NOMUC.SA) rose by 0.35%, closing at 21646.82 points.

Tadawul Market Cap Gains SAR32.1 Billion

Tadawul’s market capitalization rose 0.34% week on week to SAR9.56 trillion in the week ended Aug 20. Foreign investors’ ownership increased to 4.76%, valued at SAR454.89 billion. Institutional holdings gained SAR24.22 billion to SAR9.15 trillion, while noninstitutional ownership climbed SAR7.85 billion to SAR419.37 billion.

FTSE Russell Adds Five Saudi Stocks in Quarterly Review

FTSE Russell added Alwasail, Canadian Medical Center Co.(4021.SA), Gas Arabian Services Co.(4146.SA), Nofoth Food Products Co.(2288.SA) and Saleh Abdulaziz Al Rashed and Sons Co.(1324.SA) to its MicroCap and Global Equity indexes. Rasan Information Technology Co.(8313.SA) was promoted to mid-cap, while Arabian Contracting Services Co.(4071.SA) and Perfect Presentation for Commercial Services Co.(7204.SA) were downgraded. Allied Cooperative Insurance Group(8150.SA) and Thimar Development Holding Co.(4160.SA) were removed. The changes take effect Sept 21 and will be reflected on Tadawul Sept 17.

US Plans Unprecedented Economic Isolation of Iran

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said details of new measures to isolate Iran economically will be announced on Aug 24. Writing in the Financial Times, he said Washington would target Iranian oil purchases, money transfers and ship-to-ship crude transfers, imposing secondary sanctions on countries and companies maintaining such ties. Bessent said large-scale military action was unlikely to be needed.

KSA Stocks

Petro Rabigh Appoints Hassan Al Yami as CEO

Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co.(2380.SA) said CEO Othman Al-Ghamdi resigned for personal reasons, effective Aug 31, while remaining a board member. Hassan Al Yami will succeed him Sept 1. Al Yami has more than 30 years of refining and petrochemical leadership experience, including senior roles at Saudi Aramco and its affiliates.

Al-Jouf Agricultural Plans SAR236.3 Million Capital Increase

Al-Jouf Agricultural Development Co.(6070.SA)’s board recommended issuing 4.5 million shares at SAR52.5 each to Almunajem Foods, suspending preemptive rights. The SAR236.25 million offering would give Almunajem a 20.3% post-increase stake. Proceeds will fund Al-Jouf’s transition into an integrated agri-industrial business. The deal requires regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Maaden Secures First US$1 Billion International Syndicated Facilities

Saudi Arabian Mining Co.(1211.SA) secured its first international syndicated loan facilities, comprising a US$500 million term loan and a US$500 million revolving credit line. The financing drew commitments from banks across the US, Canada, Europe, China and Japan. Maaden will use the facilities to diversify funding, support growth projects and strengthen access to global capital markets.

BinDawood Completes SAR4.6 Million Share Buyback

BinDawood Holding Co.(4161.SA) completed the repurchase of 1 million shares for its employee long-term incentive plan on Aug 20. The shares, representing 0.0875% of its capital, were bought for SAR4.58 million at an average of SAR4.5802 each. The company financed the buyback using internal resources.

Ladun Nears Main Market Transfer

Ladun Investment Co.(9535.SA) said Aug 25 is the final day for public review of its transfer document. Tadawul will suspend trading in the company’s shares from Aug 26 for up to five trading days while completing its transfer from the Parallel Market to the Main Market.

USA Stocks

Nevada Approves Robotaxis From Tesla, Waymo and Uber

Nevada regulators approved Tesla Motors, Inc.(TSLA.US), Alphabet Inc. Class A(GOOGL.US)-owned Waymo and Uber Technologies,Inc.(UBER.US) to operate paid autonomous ride-hailing services in Clark County, home to Las Vegas. $TSLA may deploy up to 5,000 robotaxis, while Waymo and $UBER are each authorized to operate up to 1,000 vehicles.

Trump Discloses 1,051 Trades, Sells Meta and Buys Berkshire

President Donald Trump reported 1,051 June transactions worth US$78.1 million-US$263.1 million. His largest trade was selling US$5 million-US$25 million of Vanguard Specialized Funds Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF(VIG.US). He bought Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.(FIS.US) and Home Depot, Inc.(HD.US), sold Meta Platforms(META.US) and Motorola Solutions, Inc.(MSI.US), and purchased Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B(BRK.B.US), Cintas Corporation(CTAS.US), Visa(V.US) and Mastercard(MA.US), mostly in US$1 million-US$5 million transactions.