Aramco had priced the initial public offering at 32 riyals ($8.53) per share, raising $25.6 billion and narrowly eclipsing Alibaba's IPO of 2014 to become the world's largest.
Aramco shares climbed the maximum permitted 10 percent to 35.2 riyals just seconds after the opening bell on Riyadh's Tadawul exchange and stayed there until trading stopped.
That gives Aramco a market valuation of $1.88 trillion, making it the world's most valuable company as it closes in on the $2 trillion price tag coveted by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
"Today is a day of immense pride for Aramco," company chief executive Amin Nasser said at a glitzy launch ceremony.
"Today we make history as Saudi Aramco marks the beginning of an important new chapter in our company's journey of prosperity," he added.
The stock sale is the cornerstone of Prince Mohammed's ambitious strategy to overhaul the oil-reliant economy by raising funds to pour into megaprojects and non-energy industries such as tourism and entertainment.
Wealthy Saudi families are reportedly under pressure from the government to invest in the Aramco stock, with nationalists calling it a patriotic duty.
Aramco also dangled sweeteners for local investors, including promises of higher dividends and the possibility of bonus shares if they hold on to the stock.
The energy giant's valuation was declared to be $1.7 trillion during the IPO process, putting it far ahead of other firms in the trillion-dollar club, including Apple and Microsoft.
And the listing of Aramco, with its huge capital value, boosts the Saudi bourse -- known as Tadawul -- to the ranks of the world's top ten.
But the scaled-down offering is still a far cry from the blockbuster originally planned by Prince Mohammed.
The much-delayed stock sale, first announced in 2016, was initially expected to raise as much as $100 billion from the listing of up to five percent of the company. Read More
The government's plans to raise additional funds by listing on a major international market are also on hold.
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