Tadawul Review: 

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) ended the session on Monday, up by +62 points (+0.5%) to close at the 12,025 level. TASI kicked off the session with a jump of 50 points and maintained a positive trajectory throughout the day. However, the market experienced some volatility before eventually settling at the end of the session. In general, 16 out of 20 sectors closed in the green zone, while 175 shares rose and 43 fell.  Banks (+0.3%), Materials (+0.6%), and Food and beverages (+1.9%) sectors contributed the most to the index rise. Stockwise, Saudi Telecom (+1.9%), Riyadh Cables (+6.5%), and Savola (+3.4%) were the major contributors. The trading activity witnessed an increase in volume and value of +24% and +69%, respectively, to reach 295mn shares and SAR8.1bn in value traded.

 

 

 

Market Wrap International:

In the U.S., following Powell's reassurances of a cautious approach to interest rate cuts this year and his commitment to remaining unaffected by the presidential election, investor confidence in the economy was strengthened. However, the S&P 500 recorded losses of -0.3% for the day, and the Nasdaq composite also saw a negative trend, closing down by -0.2% while the dollar climbed to its highest in almost three months against nine other major currencies.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 index slightly declined on Monday, by -0.05%, despite a positive market outlook fueled by positive corporate reports which managed to overshadow the prevailing subdued sentiment in the market as investors remained cautious and reevaluated their expectations for potential interest rate cuts. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 fell by -0.04%, extending its streak of losses for the fourth consecutive session.

In Asia, the Hang Seng Index declined by -0.2%, and the Shanghai Composite Index fell  by -1.0% as investors responded to the strong U.S. employment numbers from Friday and absorbed the negative sentiment towards China. In Japan, the TOPIX index climbed by +0.7%, and the Nikkei 225 rose by +0.5%. Additionally, economic data, such as Indonesia's annual economic growth of 5.05% last year, indicated a slight decline but remained solid.