Tadawul Review:
Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) closed negatively on Wednesday for the fifth consecutive day by -113 (-1.0%) to close at the 11,298 level. TASI opened the session negatively by -7 points, and continued declining gradually until the end of the session. In general, 14 out of 20 sectors closed in the red zone, while 159 of 223 shares fell and 56 rose. Banks (-0.9%), Telecom (-2.1%), and Utilities (-3.2%) sectors contributed the most to the index fall. Stockwise, ACWA Power (-4.0%), Saudi Telecom (-2.2%), and Saudi National Bank (-1.0%) were the major contributors. The trading activity witnessed an increase in volume and value by 11% and 7%, respectively, to reach 212mn shares and SAR6.2bn in value traded.
In the U.S, S&P 500 was down by (-0.7%) with 9 out of 11 listed sectors dropping as investors remained cautious due to concerns about persistent inflation. The market was on edge in anticipation of crucial data, including the Federal Reserve's report on the U.S. economy, as the outcome could help determine the bank's interest rate path. The Nasdaq Composite was down too by -1.1% and the yields on 2-10-year tenures fell by -0.2|+1.3bps.
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 declined by (-0.6) as concerns over a global economic slowdown and higher crude prices weighed on market sentiment and FTSE 100 was down by (-0.2%) while the other country-level indices were up in a range between of -0.2%|-0.8 %. Meanwhile, the Governing Council member Klaas Knot believes investors are underestimating the possibility of an interest-rate increase.
In Asia, Chinese investor sentiment was unsettled as a result of a recent private-sector survey indicating that services activity expanded at its most sluggish rate in eight months during August. The Hang Seng Index closed slightly down by 150 points and China's benchmark CSI300 fell by 0.22%, ahead of data that proved exports contracted at a slower pace in August while SHCOMP rose by 0.12%. Benchmarks in Japan made sizeable gains (TOPIX 0.6| NIKKEI 225 0.6%). Other major indices in the region were up in the range of -0.7|0.2. The yuan closes at its lowest price against the U.S. dollar in 16 year