Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closed Thursday's session ‎down -61 points (-0.6%) to close at 10,216 levels. TASI ‎opened the session positively (+20 points) and then ‎continued in a largely stable range, as trading settled ‎between levels of 39 points from the opening to the end of ‎the normal trading hours. This was before TASI retreated by ‎‎-42 points in the closing auction, adding to its daily losses. In ‎general, 10 out of 20 sectors closed in the red, while 106 ‎stocks rose and 90 fell. Banks (-1.4%), Materials (-0.5%), and ‎Food and Staples Retailing (-1%) sectors were the major ‎drags on the index and contributed a total of -61 points. ‎Stocks-wise, Al Rajhi Bank (-2%), Saudi National Bank (-1%), ‎and Riyad Bank (-1.6%) pulled the index down the most. The ‎trading activity fell in volume and value by 27% and 25%, ‎respectively, to reach 100mn shares and SAR2.7bn. TASI is ‎unlikely to break free from its current indecisiveness. The ‎latest moves in the international market, in particular ‎COVID-19 updates in China, will likely weigh on market ‎moves in near-term.

 

 

 

Market Wrap International:

The global equity indices moved in divergent directions amid ‎two major concerns-China COVID infection post and economic ‎data in the U.S. Investors remain cautious going into year-end ‎holiday season following major surprises in monetary policy by ‎global central banks and rapid rise in infection cases in China. ‎In the U.S, the benchmark S&P 500 Index rose 0.‎‏6‏‎% on Friday, ‎largely supported by energy (+3.6%) and Communication ‎Service (+1.1%). The concerns on future rate hikes and ‎recession have defined recent moves in the U.S equity indices.‎

In Europe, the benchmark Stoxx Euro 600 Index recovered by ‎‎0.04% on Friday. The drop-in gas prices in the region has been ‎major relief for the region though investors remained wary of ‎the latest development in China and the economic data in the ‎U.S

In Asia, almost all major indices moved down in sync with ‎latest COVID-19 infection updates from China fanning fears of ‎a significant economic slowdown and possible reversal of latest ‎easing of COVID-19 restrictions. Meanwhile, the surprise ‎action by Bank of Japan remained a major overhang for ‎market performance. Majors in the region fell by 0.4-1.8% with ‎KOSPI (-1.8%), SENSEX (-1.6%) and TAIEX (-1.2%) being the ‎top three major underperformers. ‎‎