Tadawul Review:
Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) fell on Wednesday’s session, down by -17 points (-0.2) to close at the 10,714 level. TASI opened the session on a negative note (-2 points), but it soon gained momentum and reached its highest level of the day during the first trading hour. However, the upward momentum was short-lived as the index gradually declined throughout the session. Overall, 11 out of 20 sectors closed in the red zone, while 156 shares fell and 57 rose. The Materials (-1.5%), Food and beverage (-1.3%), and Telecom (-0.9%) sectors contributed the most to the index falling. Stockwise, Sipchem (-6.7%), Saudi Telecom (-2.4%), and Riyad Bank (-1.7%) were the major contributors. The trading activity witnessed a decline in volume by -5% to reach 198 shares, while the value increased by +11% to reach SAR5.9bn in value traded.
For the global equity markets, investors remain concerned as Iran escalates its verbal attacks on Israel following an explosion at a Gaza hospital. This situation has further complicated diplomatic attempts to mitigate the Middle East conflict, resulting in a more than 3% surge in oil prices and a decline in stock markets. The S&P 500 edged lower by -1.3% %, with nine of eleven listed sectors falling, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by -1.6%. The yields on 2–10-year tenures rose by 4.9–5.2 bps.
In Europe, investor anticipation builds ahead of the Central Bank's interest rate decision next week as a hotter-than-expected UK inflation reading weighs on stocks. The Stoxx Europe 600 was lower by -1.1%. and in the UK, the FTSE-100 index closed down by -1.1% as UK house prices rose by 0.2% YoY in August, the smallest increase since April 2012, according to official data. Further, the country-level indices closed negatively a range of –1.0% to -0.9%.
In Asia, investor sentiment was negatively impacted as concerns regarding the pressures on China's property sector weighed heavily on equities, leading to a decline in the market. Chinese stocks declined (Shanghai Composite: -0.8%, Hang Seng: -0.2%) as China's Q3 economy exceeded expectations with robust growth, with September's consumption and industrial activity suprising analysts. The benchmarks in Japan showed a positive performance (Topix: +0.1%, Nikkei 225: +0.01%), while the other country indices moved in a range of -1.2%|+0.1%.