Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) gained 63 points (+0.5%), closing above 12,900 for the first time since 2006 and ending the session at 12,944 levels. The market commenced in the slight negative at 12,875 levels and then underwent a volatile session before obtaining a sharp recovery to close in the green. The Energy sector dropped by -1.9% due to ARAMCO recording a loss of -1.2% to end the session at SAR 42.6/sh. The Insurance sector gained +1.6%, which is attributed to the gains recorded by most of the firms including TAWUNIYA and BUPA ARABIA that jumped +2.7% and +3.4%, respectively. The Banking sector also recorded an increase of +1.1% courtesy of several banks recording gains including ALINMA and BJAZ which soared +2.3% and +3.5%, respectively. Trading volumes and values decreased by -7.3%, and -16%, respectively. With Brent prices at USD119/bbl, the market is likely to maintain its current levels.

Market Wrap International:

On Wednesday, global equities ended a winning streak after a robust bounce that saw almost half of the previous decline from all-time highs recovered. The S&P500 fell -1.2% after widespread selling, dragged by technology -1.5%, health care -1.8%, and financials -1.8%, while energy jumped +1.8% as oil prices surged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -1.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell -1.3%. With natural gas prices climbing on Wednesday, Russia said it expects to demand ruble payment for natural gas purchases from European nations, intensifying its confrontation with the west.

In Europe, major indices were negatively impacted by the release of some major European economic data amid soaring energy prices. The European Stoxx 600 turned to losses after five consecutive sessions of gains, falling by -1.0%. In Germany, DAX dragged down by -1.3% as investors await the PMI data set to be released tomorrow. In the UK, the inflation number touched 30-year high surpassing analysts’ expectations, leading FTSE 100 to inch down -0.2% while France’s CAC40 closed -1.4% lower.

In Asia, most major markets closed in the positive zone despite noticeable volatility during today’s session. In China, during the first half of the session, SHCOMP was slightly negative but managed to reverse its direction to close up by +0.3%. In Hong Kong, the market kept its upward momentum intact, rising by +1.2% after it surged by +3.2% in the previous session. In Japan, Nikkei 225 stole the spotlight as it rose by +3.0%, extending its green run to seven sessions. KOSPI also advanced by +0.9% but SENSEX fell by -0.5%.