Tadawul Review:
Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) fell on Wednesday’s session, down by -67 points (-0.6%) to close at 10,573 levels. TASI opened on a positive note of +12 points and continued rising initially before starting to decline during the remainder of the session until the end. Overall, 17 out of 20 sectors closed in the red zone, while 198 shares fell and 28 rose. Energy (-1.3%), Banks (-0.3%), and Materials (-0.6%) sectors contributed the most to the index fall. Stockwise, Aramco (-1.3%), Alinma Bank (-2.7%), and Sabic (-2.1%) were the major contributors. The trading activity witnessed an increase in volume and value of +33% and +36%, respectively, to reach 290 shares and SAR6.6bn in value traded.
In the U.S. markets, stocks gained as investors anticipated the release of U.S. inflation data which is expected to provide insights into whether investors' expectations of reduced policy tightening are justified. The S&P 500 ended on a positive note by +0.4%, with eight of eleven listed sectors rising, and the Nasdaq Composite rose by +0.7%. the yields on 2-10-year tenures ranged between 4.5|4.9bps.
In Europe, stocks rose on Wednesday as oil prices edged lower and concerns about supply disruptions resulting from conflicts in the Middle East receded, providing some relief, albeit temporary. The Stoxx Europe 600 was up by +0.2 % although a glum sales update from LVMH weighed on the luxury sector. In the UK, the FTSE-100 index closed down by -0.1%, and the country-level indices closed within a range of -0.4% to +0.2%.
In Asia, Chinese stocks advanced (Shanghai Composite: +0.1%, Hang Seng: +1.3%), following a report indicating that Beijing is considering additional measures to support the country's struggling economy, which boosted overall market sentiment. The benchmarks in Japan were (Topix: -0.2%, Nikkei 225: +0.6%), while the other country indices moved positively in a range of 0.6%|2.0%.