Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) declined by 54 points (-0.4%) ending the last session of the week at 12,684 levels. The market commenced with a sharp increase of 53 points but failed to maintain the momentum and slipped past its last close to end the session in the red. Many sectors ended the last session in negative including the Energy sector which fell by -4.5%. The downfall was influenced by ARAMCO which reduced by -5.1% to close at SAR 41.1/sh. The Utilities sector rose by +2%, courtesy of ACWA Power and SAUDI ELECTRICITY which closed in gains of +2.0% and +2.6%, respectively. Trading volumes and values closed in the red for the third consecutive time, decreasing by -11.5% and -11.3%, respectively. Investors will continue to monitor the developments on the geopolitical front, as the conflict between Russia-Ukraine will continue to determine the direction of the market in the near term.

Market Wrap International:

On Friday, major U.S. stock indexes fell as tech and growth stocks led a broad sell-off, as investors fretted about the Ukraine war as attention shifted to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week. The S&P 500 Index fell the most in a week since Jan. 21, raising investor concerns that geopolitical tensions could persist longer. The benchmark index fell -1.3% at the close. The communication services and information technology sectors led the losses among the 11 major industry groups. Shares of growth companies like Apple and Tesla were down. Apple's stock plummeted 2.4 percent, while Tesla's stock plunged 5.1 percent. The Nasdaq 100 Index, which is heavily weighted in technology, fell -2.2%, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -0.7%.

In Europe, major markets underwent a volatile session but managed to rebound on Friday’s session on a hint from Putin that talks with Ukraine are in progress. The Stoxx600 ended a streak of three weeks of losses, adding (4% WoW) but ended the Friday’s session +1.0% higher. In Germany, DAX closed the last week’s trading session in the green, gaining +1.4%. In the UK, with tempting economic data, FTSE 100 advanced by +0.8% while France’s CAC40also rose by nearly +0.9%.  

In Asia, most markets were down, ending the week’s last session negative. Although Hang Seng rose on Thursday’s session, it lost all the gains on Friday as the market dipped by -1.6% led by tech firms (Alibaba lost -5.5% while Tencent lost -4.4%). In Japan, negative sentiment dominated the session with Nikkei falling by -2.1%. Also, South Korea’s KOSPI struggled and lost -0.7%. However, SHCOMP in China, reversed its direction in the last trading hour, ending the session +0.4% in the green.