Tadawul Review: 

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) ended the last day of April ‎positively on Sunday, rising +37 points (+0.3%) to close at ‎‎11,308 levels, capping the monthly gains at +718 points ‎‎(MoM: +6.8%, YTD: +7.9%). TASI had opened the session ‎positively by 30 points from the previous close and continued ‎to rise to reach its intraday high at 11,350 before it went ‎down. In general, 15 out of 20 sectors closed in the green ‎zone, while 131 stocks rose and 76 fell. Banks (+0.4%), ‎Materials (+0.5%), and Energy (+0.8%) sectors contributed ‎the most to the index's rise of +31 points. Stockwise, Aramco ‎‎(+0.8%), Saudi National Bank (+1.0%), and Sulaiman Al Habib ‎‎(+2.8%) contributed most to the rise of the index. The ‎trading activity witnessed a decline in volume and value by -‎‎16% and -18%, respectively, to reach 174mn shares and ‎SAR5.2bn in value traded. TASI has increased 12% in the past ‎two months. While ongoing earning season may offer room ‎for further upside from current levels, the risk of index ‎loosing is growing. Key near-term risks to market include ‎volatility in international markets and downside in commodity ‎prices. ‎

 

 

Market Wrap International:

The global equity indices will be squarely focused on the upcoming ‎monetary policy decision by the Fed and ECB next week. The two ‎central banks are expected to sustain the monetary tightening cycle. ‎The Fed is expected to lift rates by another 25bps before giving a ‎possible signal for pause. On the other hand, ECB is expected to ‎downshift the rate hike cycle to 25bps from 50bps. The ripple effects ‎of monetary policy decisions and the accompanying commentary ‎for the rationales of the decision may continue for the rest of the ‎week. Overall, the equity benchmarks are likely to react in both ‎cases. Beyond policy rate hike, both the regions will see ‎announcement of Mar-end results from a number of companies ‎besides important economic data release. This includes more labor ‎market and ISM data in the U.S and CPI data in Europe. The ‎smooth resolution of the crisis at yet another mid-sized bank in the ‎U.S remains crucial for the stability in the market. Equity markets in ‎both regions may see negative effects from the renewed stress in the ‎banking system.‎

In Asia, the disappointment from recently released manufacturing ‎data in China may impact the equity indices in the region. The ‎investors will also closely track the monetary policy decision from ‎the global central banks. Overall, markets are likely to wobble ‎before seeing relative stability. ‎