Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) remained choppy in ‎Thursday's session and managed to close with little change (-‎‎0.9pts) to settle at 11,142 levels. TASI underwent an initial ‎nervous trading period after a modestly positive opening. ‎However, TASI was trading in a range of 75 points between ‎high and low but importantly maintained the support levels ‎above the 11,000 level. In general, 9 out of 20 sectors closed ‎in the red zone, while 113 stocks rose and 90 fell. Banks (-‎‎0.2%), Utilities (-1.6%), and Telecom (-0.4%) sectors were the ‎major drags on the index. Stocks-wise, Saudi National Bank ‎‎(+1.3%), SABIC (+1.1%), and Bank Al-Bilad (+0.6%) ‎contributed the most to the stability of the index. The trading ‎activity witnessed a decline of 18% and 26%, respectively, to ‎reach 108mn shares and SAR4.2bn. The drop in oil prices by ‎1.6% in the last two sessions in international market is ‎concerning and will likely keep sentiment muted. TASI may ‎once again retest its support levels just below the 11k mark.‎

 

 

Market Wrap International:

The global equity indices moved higher amid latest comments ‎from central banks’ officials and optimism regarding more ‎economic support measures in China. FedSpeak has worked to ‎dilute the excitement over the soft CPI data last week as ‎treasury yields jumped by 5-8bps across tenures and renewed ‎concerns son economic slow-down sent commodity prices ‎further down. In the U.S, the S&P 500 Index jumped by 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite remained unchanged at session close despite facing intraday volatility. All but two industrial sectors (energy and ‎Communication Services) listed on S&P 500 moved higher with ‎Utilities and Real estate leading the gains.‎

In Europe, the Stoxx Euro 600 Index closed higher by 1.2%, ‎capping fifth weekly gains. The index gains came despite a ‎relatively hawkish tone by the ECB President on the interest ‎rate outlook and fiscal stimulus by various governments which ‎are part of the union. Soft energy prices and optimism over ‎China reopening have lowered near-term inflation concerns ‎during peak winter season. The country level indices also ‎advanced on Friday (FTSE: +0.5%, DAX: +1.2%).‎

In Asia, major equity indices took a breather and moved ‎largely sideways to close with minor to modest losses (0.1-‎‎0.6%). Tech names were particularly in focus across the region. ‎Equity indices in the region have greatly benefited from China-‎focused positive updates (COVID-19 restrictions, fresh ‎relaxation measures for the property sector and reduced ‎geopolitical risk). Outlook on currency has stabilized given the ‎anticipation of a less hawkish Fed.‎