Tadawul Review: 

The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) fell on Wednesday, falling by -74 points (-0.6%) to close at the 11,656 level. TASI started the session positively, opening with gains of 2 points, then started to decline gradually to close at its lowest level during the session. Overall, 15 out of 21 sectors closed in the red zone, while 117 shares fell and 109 rose. Banks (-0.8%), Utilities (-2.7%), and Materials (-0.6%) sectors contributed the most to the index fall. Stockwise, ACWA Power (-3.3%), Al Rajhi Bank  (-1.1%), and Alinma Bank (-1.6%) were the major contributors. The trading activity witnessed an increase in volume by 10% to reach 288mn while the value decreased by -23% to reach SAR5.5bn value traded.

 

 

Market Wrap International:

The equity benchmarks in the U.S opened higher on ‎Wednesday ‎ ahead ‎of key inflation this week that offers more ‎clues on the Federal ‎Reserve's interest rate path. S&P 500 ‎edged up +0.2% with 3 out of eleven ‎listed sectors rose while ‎Nasdaq Compiste rose +0.5% with a mixed bag of U.S. ‎economic updates this week, the overseas price picture may ‎feed greater caution ahead of PCE release.‎

 

In Europe, the absence of major data from the euro zone ‎on Wednesday, traders ‎are taking their cues from policy ‎signals. Investor expectations for the ‎European Central Bank ‎to loosen monetary policy twice more this year ‎are fair. The ‎STOXX 600 index decreased by -0.6%. ‎

 

In Asian markets, Asian markets except India rose on ‎Wednesday, taking ‎cues from a tech-driven bounce on Wall ‎Street, as ‎investors positioned themselves ahead of the release ‎of ‎crucial US inflation data. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen fell ‎‎back towards levels that have previously prompted ‎‎intervention warnings from Japanese officials. In Asian ‎trading ‎specifically, China's SHCOMP index climbed +0.8%, ‎while ‎Japan's TOPIX and Nikkei 225 indexes saw gains of ‎‎+0.6% ‎and +1.3% respectively, as markets prepared for ‎the ‎upcoming US economic updates.