The index crossed the 10,000 point threshold on 8 December, the first time in more than a year. The index is up 39 per cent since the beginning of the year after trading flat for the first 10 months. The rise is being driven by investor momentum.

“It didn’t blink at 10,000 points,” says a Riyadh-based analyst. “There is no obvious reason for the rise. There’s nothing in the budget that would alter the outlook for share prices. It has gone up so quickly, the market looks overvalued.”

But the rally is not expected to last. “Investors may start profit taking by the end of the year,” says Riyad Bank chief economist Khan Zahid. “The market is always set up to fall. People get nervous and take out their profits.”