Tadawul Review: 

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) rose on Wednesday’s session, rising by 69 points (+0.6%) to close at the 12,174 level. TASI opened the session positively by +10 points and continued to rise gradually during the session until the end. Overall, 13 out of 20 sectors closed in the green zone, while 157 shares rose and 54 fell. Banks (+0.9%), Real Estate (+3.4%), and Materials (+0.6%) sectors contributed the most to the index rise. Stockwise, Al Rajhi Bank (+1.0%), Jabal Omar (+4.3%), and Alinma Bank (+1.2%) were the major contributors. The trading activity witnessed a decline in volume and value of -21% and -17%, respectively, to reach 241mn shares and SAR7.1bn in value traded.

 

 

 

Market Wrap International:

In the U.S., shares rose on Wednesday, fuelled by positive tech earnings and Nvidia hits a record market cap of $1.5 trillion and is now up 27% in 2024 after their partnership with the government on a new AI research program, while the dollar remained resilient amid expectations of a cautious approach by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 was up by 0.1% with 4 out of 11 and the Nasdaq composite was also positive by 0.4% as investors awaited upcoming corporate reports for clues on this year's profit outlook.

 In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose +1.2% on Wednesday as investors awaited the upcoming meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB is anticipated to maintain unchanged interest rates, although traders have priced in potential interest rate cuts of up to 130 basis points throughout the year. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 index closed up by +0.6%.

In Asia, after China's central bank reduced bank reserves and injected approximately $140 billion into the banking system to support the economy and stock markets, the Hang Seng Index experienced a notable 3.6% rise, while the Shanghai Composite Index saw a 1.8% increase. In Japan, the TOPIX and Nikkei 225 recorded losses of -0.5% and -0.8%, respectively.