The 10 percent surge on Wednesday of the National Commercial Bank’s (NCB) share prices in their first day of trading underscores a generally bullish mood on Saudi stock market, investors and analysts said.

The shares jumped their daily 10 percent limit upon listing on Wednesday after a SR22.5 billion IPO.

The Tadawul All Share Index “will be positively impacted over the long term as this bank is the oldest bank in the country and the largest one in the region,” said Basil Al-Ghalayini, CEO of BMG Financial Group.

“I believe the NCB stock price will witness a gradual increase in the weeks ahead,” he told Arab News.

John Sfakianakis of Ashmore Group commented: “Today we saw the debut of NCB and the stock didn’t disappoint, as expected. NCB hit the limit up at the open.”

He added: “There is massive interest from foreign international institutions and regional players, and this appetite is expected to continue.”

The shares were priced at a discount for the initial public offering and could double at the start of trading, an analyst forecast earlier, before Tadawul announced the stock would trade with a “fluctuation limit” of 10 percent up to SR49.5.

Bahrain-based Securities & Investment Co. rated NCB a “high conviction buy” with a target price of SR72.