Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) managed to sustain above an important milestone of 13,000 on the final session of the 1Q2022 with measured gain of 59points to close at 13,090 levels. The index opened the session on a cautious note and temporarily traded below 13,000 levels before paring losses in the closing minutes. Trading activity remained flat DoD with volumes coming in at 174mn shares. Energy, led by Aramco, and Utilities were the major performers for the day. The two heavyweight sectors, Banks and Materials mostly moved sideways. Overall, TASI has extended its strong momentum seen in most of 2021 into 1Q2022 and delivered a stellar return of 16.0%, making its one the best Emerging Markets among its peers. Looking ahead, next few sessions may see usual seasonal slowdown in trading activity, however overall corporate news flows is expected to remain strong. Meanwhile commodity and global interest rate environment too remain supportive for TASI.

Market Wrap International:

Even after the monthly U.S. jobs data highlighted a solid labor market, the S&P 500 gained on Friday, indicating that rapid Federal Reserve tightening is anticipated in the coming months. After bouncing between gains and losses for the whole of Friday's regular trading session, the benchmark gauge closed up +0.3%. Real estate and utilities were among the eight major industry groups that improved, while industrials and financials fell. The Nasdaq 100, which is heavily weighted in technology, gained +0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed +0.4%.

European indices were mostly positive on Friday’s session while investors were waiting for the release of the US payroll numbers. The European Pan Stoxx 600 rose by +0.5% after declining by nearly -1% in the previous session. In the UK, FTSE 100 advanced by +0.3% led by financial sector. In Germany, DAX turned positive after two sessions of losses, adding +0.2% on Friday. In France, CAC 40 moved sideways, rising by +0.4%

In Asia, major indices were mixed as the geopolitical dented investor sentiment. In China, SHCOMP managed to rise on Friday by +0.9% to erase the previous session loss of -0.4%. In Hong Kong, Hang Seng ended the week on a positive note, adding +0.2%. On the other hand, Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded in the red zone for the whole session and ended the session -0.6% lower. Similarly, KOSPI in South Korea declined by -0.7% to end its winning streak of three sessions.