The selling has not been confined to a single session. On Sunday morning, the index opened 1.27% lower at 10,244.26 as banks dropped 1% and transportation fell 2.63%. By mid-morning, 264 stocks were declining versus five advancers on volume of 28.7 million shares worth 398.7 million riyals. Yet the index recovered much of that early loss to close at 10,369.61, illustrating the tug-of-war between heavyweight support and broad-based distribution.
Defensive and commodity-linked pockets absorbed some of the rotation. Food production rose 3.88% for the week and basic materials added 1.01%. Watani Steel surged 10% to 2.42 riyals on 12 million shares after its transfer from the Nomu parallel market, up roughly 33% since the move. Raydan Food gained 7.75% to 17.25 riyals in an earlier session.
Liquidity is drying up alongside sentiment. Weekly turnover fell 6.25% to 17.37 billion riyals and volume dropped 6.27% to 882.22 million shares, suggesting participants are waiting for clearer catalysts. Argaam data shows Saudi individuals have been net sellers in 27 of the first 38 weeks of 2026, offloading roughly 22 billion riyals, while institutions and foreign investors provided the offsetting bids.