Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) declined for the second day in a row on Tuesday, falling by -101 points (-0.9%) to close at 11,097 levels, the lowest closing since September 28, 2022 (35 trading days). TASI made a modest positive opening (+16points) , but it quickly came under selling pressure. The heavyweight sectors- Banks (SNB: -2%), energy (Aramco:-1.8%) and material (-0.9%) were the major drag to the index's performance. TASI fell -151 points from the previous close in the normal trading session before partially paring its losses in the closing auction . In general, 15 out of 20 sectors closed in the red zone, while 92 stocks rose and 106 fell. Trading activity also witnessed a decline in volume and value by 13% and 14%, respectively, to reach 121mn shares and SAR4.9bn. TASI has come close to an important psychological level of 11k. The index has earlier taken support from around the same levels. Possibility of the index consolidating around current levels is high.
The global equity indices moved higher on easing US-China tension , fresh relaxation measures for the Chinese property sector and softer inflation data in the U.S. The treasury yields retreated by 3-7bps, wiping out the uptick seen in the previous session while the dollar index also declined. In the U.S, the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite jumped by 0.9-1.4%. The below consensus reading for Producer Price Index (PPI) has further substantiated the market view of easing inflationary pressure and reinforces expectation of slowdown in the pace of rate hikes by the Fed.
In Europe, the Stoxx Euro 600 Index moved sideways but managed to close with a modest gain of 0.4%. Overall sentiments are still positive on the back of strong 3Q earnings, easing concerns on energy supply and reopening of China. Real estate and Retail sectors were prominent underperformers for the day while Utilities, media and technology names surged.
In Asia, the HangSeng (+4.1%) in Hong Kong was once again in the limelight along with Shanghai Composite (+1.6%) in China. The meeting of the leaders of two superpowers, the U.S and China, raised expectations of restart of cooperation in future and easing of tension between the two countries. China also announced more measures to overcome the liquidity crunch of the property developers. Elsewhere, indices in Japan (TOPIX:+0.4%), Korea (KOSPI: 0.2%), Taiwan (TAIEX: +2.6%, fresh foreign buying) and India (SENSEX: -0.2%) closed positive.