Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) closed with minor losses ‎ahead of extended national holidays on account of Eid Al-‎Adha. The index dropped by -7 points (-0.1%) on Thursday to ‎close at 11,459 levels. TASI opened the session on a slight ‎negative note and then started riseing during the session, ‎reaching its intraday high in the middle of the session by 28 ‎points before declining until the end of the session. In general, ‎‎9 out of 20 sectors closed in the red zone, while 121 stocks ‎fell and 93 rose. Food and beverages (-1.1%), Media (-3.9%), ‎and Telecom (-0.6%) sectors contributed the most to the ‎index's -13 point fall. Stockwise, Alinma Bank (-1.5%), ‎Almarai (-2.3%), and Saudi Telecom (-0.8%) were the major ‎contributors. The trading activity witnessed an increase in ‎volume and value of 21% and 17%, respectively, to reach ‎‎235mn shares and SAR6.3bn in value traded.‎

 

 

Market Wrap International:

The global equity indices closed the month and 1H23 on a ‎positive note on Friday. The better than expected economic ‎data in the U.S, and continued expectations of a new ‎economic stimulus package in China sustained the positive ‎sentiment.   The economic data in the U.S was construed ‎largely positive in the backdrop of ongoing debate on the need ‎to resume rate hike cycle in 2H23. The Fed’s favorite inflation ‎gauge, PCE, showed further signs of softening though the core ‎reading remained sticky. Apple Inc, the US tech giant, surged ‎‎2.3% on Friday and became the first tech company to cross ‎‎3trn market capitalization. Other tech names also alongside ‎consumer and utilities also added to market gains. The S&P ‎‎500 and Nasdaq Composite closed the session with 1.2% and ‎‎1.4% gains.‎

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose on Friday by 1.2%. ‎The country level indices advanced by 0.8-1.3%. The investors ‎sidestepped concerns on ongoing violence in France and ‎focused on the economic data in the U.S.‎

In Asia, major equity indices were mixed on Friday. The latest ‎economic data in China (manufacturing activity) once again ‎pointed to slowdown in economic activity and renewed calls ‎for fresh economic stimulus measures. The Shanghai ‎Composite recorded 0.6% on similar expectation while Hang ‎Seng recouped intraday losses to close with minor change (-‎‎0.1%). Indices in India (SENSEX: +1.3%), Korea (KOSPI: +0.6%) ‎closed positive while those of Taiwan (TAIEX: -0.2%) and Japan ‎‎(Topix: -0.3%) closed negative. ‎