Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) made another positive closing on Monday, the eighth day in a row, and added another +170 points (+1.6%) to close at 10,807 levels. TASI opened the session positively, up +64 points from the previous close, and continued to rise until it closed at the highest level for today. In general, 16 out of 20 sectors closed in the green zone, while 146 stocks rose and 68 fell. Banks (+2.9%), Materials (+1.1%), and Utilities (+2.7%) sectors contributed the most to the index's rise of +129 points. Stock-wise, Saudi National Bank (+4.4%), Riyadh Bank (+5.9%), and Alinma Bank (+4.4%) contributed most to the rise of the index. The trading volume activity increased by 27% DoD to reach 228mn shares, while the trading value increased by 30% DoD to reach SAR6.6bn. TASI has added 457 points (4.4%) in the current rally. The index enjoys a strong momentum may sustain the rally despite strong recent performance.
The global equity markets broadly moved sideways on Monday amid mixed economic data and the announcement from OPEC+ to curtail oil production. A strong performance in the foregoing week also made investors cautious. In the U.S, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite moved in divergent directions as the former rose by 0.4% while the latter dropped by 0.3%. Energy names were in the lead as tech and growth stocks came under selling pressure. The treasury yields move higher on concerns on the impact of a cut in oil production by OPEC+ and energy prices.
In Europe, the PMI data for the month of Mar in the U.K and Germany fell short of expectations and stoked fears of recession. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed, declining by 0.03%.
In Asia, markets broadly moved higher led by China (Shanghai Composite: +0.7%), Japan (TOPIX:+0.7%), India (SENSEX:+0.2%). Strong economic data in China released in recent sessions, coupled with relatively attractive valuation in the region, provides an encouraging backdrop for performance.