Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) pared gains of the previous session, declining by 159 points (-1.2%) to close at 12,663 levels. The market opened with a positive gap but soon changed course to decline gradually maintaining its negative momentum throughout the session. Banks (-1.8%). Materials (-1.2%), and Energy (-1.2%) led the index decline with Al Rajhi Bank (-1.9%), ARAMCO (-1.2%), and Saudi National Bank (-2.1%) contributing the most. Al Sagr (+5.3%) and Dar Al Arkan (3.3%) were the biggest gainers for the day. Overall, 17 of 20 sectors closed in the red, and the market recorded an advance to decline ratio of 0.54x. Trading volumes and value declined by 16% and 14% to 152mn shares and SAR6.0bn.

 

Market Wrap International:

Stocks in the United States climbed on Tuesday, particularly in the last hour of trading as Treasury rates fell. The S&P500 rose +0.95% on broad-based buying, with 83 percent of stocks higher, led by energy (+3.14%), while consumer discretionary -0.37% was the only sector negative. The Dow Jones gained 0.80% while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.94%. With no Federal Reserve speakers scheduled this week, investors are keeping an eye on Friday's consumer inflation data for May, which is likely to show core prices falling from +6.2% to +5.9% with headline inflation remaining constant at +8.3%.

European markets fell, but reduced greater losses when a drop in the 10-year US yield drew back dip buyers in late trade. The Euro Stoxx 600 fell -0.28% after falling -0.88% earlier, with the DAX falling -0.66%, the CAC falling -0.74%, and the FTSE100 falling -0.12%. An ECB policy announcement on Thursday is expected to terminate trillions of Euros in asset purchases and chart the way out of eight years of zero rates. The important question will be whether the ECB begins raising rates gradually in July or opts for greater rises of +0.5% like other central banks.

Asian markets closed mostly negative as chipmaker stocks came under pressure. Tech hardware stocks declined as investors worried about the demand outlook for these gadgets despite China’s move to ease COVID lockdowns. The SH Composite inched up by 0.2% while the KOSPI fell by 1.7% as it reopened after a holiday. In Japan, Nikkei 225, crawled up by 0.1% led by Japanese automakers on the back of the weakening Yen boosting the exporter outlook. The Hang Seng posted a decline of 0.6% while the SENSEX was down by 1.0%.