Saudi Aramco shares collapse below listing price, halting trade

Saudi Aramco shares recovered slightly on Tuesday after diving 10 percent a day earlier.

2 min read

10 March, 2020

Trading of Saudi Aramco stocks came to a halt on Monday [Getty]

The Saudi stock market - the largest in the Middle East - tumbled 9.2 percent at the start of trading on Tuesday with energy giant Saudi Aramco's shares diving 10 percent, well below its listing price.

The crash brought trading on the stock to a halt on Tuesday, as the Tadawul market only allows stocks to fluctuate by 10 percent a day.

The drop followed a crash in oil prices on the global market after OPEC and its allies failed to reach a deal on production cuts to shore up prices dented by the coronavirus.

Saudi Aramco - the world's biggest company - launched on the bourse to much fanfare in December in a record-breaking initial public offering, but since then its value has slipped from $1.71 trillion to $1.65 trillion.

The slide on the Saudi market also came amid reports of high-level arrests among the ruling family.

Multiple sources told AFP that Saudi authorities detained three princes, including King Salman's brother and nephew, for allegedly plotting a coup, in a move that signals Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's tightening grip on power.

Global stocks and oil prices rebounded on Tuesday on hopes of US economic stimulus measures as the coronavirus rages, one day after suffering their biggest one-day losses in more than a decade.

Trading was highly volatile as investors attempted to get a grip on a rapidly evolving news flow, with positive reports of progress in China on the virus clashing with a Saudi decision to increase oil output in an already over-supplied market.