Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) remained unchanged on ‎Thursday's session, to close at the same level as the previous ‎closing, 10,532. TASI began the trading session on a muted ‎note, but it soon started to fall until the middle of the session, ‎when it reached its intraday low level of -90 points. However, ‎the the drop in stock prices encouraged investors to buy on ‎dip which helped TASI in paring its losses. In general, 6 out of ‎‎20 sectors closed in the red zone, while 152 stocks rose and ‎‎48 fell. Materials (+0.5%), Telecom (+0.8%), and Media ‎‎(+3.3%) sectors contributed to the stability of the index, ‎while Banks (-0.2%), Energy (-0.4%), and Utilities (-1%) were ‎a drag on the index. Among stocks, Al Rajhi Bank (-0.7%), ‎Aramco (-0.5%), and ACWA Power (-1.6%) pulled the index ‎down the most. The trading activity witnessed a decline in ‎the volume and value of trading by 27% and 18%, ‎respectively, to reach 176mn shares and SAR3.7bn. TASI is ‎likely to move in a narrow range with investors staying ‎cautious given volatility in oil prices.

 

 

 

Market Wrap International:

The global equity indices closed higher on Friday on the back of ‎better-than-expected economic data in the U.S and optimism ‎over Dec-end results. Markets had closed the foregoing year ‎on a pessimistic note with a slew of monetary policy surprises. ‎The latest economic data is proving an opportunity to the ‎investors to better position for the result season. The wage ‎growth in the U.S dropped ahead of consensus expectation. ‎The treasury yields in the U.S fell to reflect concurrent market ‎expectations. The benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq ‎Composite rose 2.3% and 2.‎‏6‏‎% to mark the first weekly ‎positive closing in over a month. Material, tech, & real estate ‎were the three top performing sectors in the S&P 500 Index.‎

‎ The indices in Europe painted a similar picture with the ‎regional benchmark index, the Stoxx Euro 600 index rising by ‎‎1.2%. Country-level indices also closed the week on a strong ‎note (FTSE-100: 0.‎‏9‏‎%, CAC40:1.5%, DAX:1.2).‎

Asian indices, however, moved in divergent directions on Friday ‎following a number of sessions with strong positive returns ‎after markets resumed trading in the New Year. Indices in ‎Japan (TOPIX:+0.4%), Taiwan (TAIEXL+0.5%) and Korea ‎‎(KOSPI:+1.1%) closed higher while indices in Hong Kong ‎‎(HangSeng:-0.3%), and India (SENSEX-‎‏0.8‏‎%) retreated. ‎Shanghai Composite (+0.1%) closed little changed. ‎

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‎ ‎

 

 ‎

‎ ‎