Tadawul Review:
Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) fell on Thursday, dropping by -96 points (-0.9) to close at 10,409 levels. TASI opened the session with a negative note of -34 points, fluctuating throughout the session until the end. Overall, 13 out of 20 sectors closed in the red zone, while 62 shares rose and 153 fell. Banks (-2.0%), Materials (-1.4%), and Food and beverages (-1.8%) sectors contributed the most to the index falling. Stockwise, Al Rajhi Bank (-1.5%), Bank AlBilad (-6.3%), and Riyad Bank (-3.2%) were the major contributors. The trading activity witnessed a decline in volume and value of -17% and -8%, respectively, to reach 156mn shares and 4.2bn in value traded.
In the U.S. markets, the S&P 500 closed on a posiave note at the end of the week by (-0.5%), with 8 of eleven listed sectors falling, and the Nasdaq Composite was also up by +0.4% as investors face the reality of higher interest rates, with Federal Reserve officials talking about keeping rates “higher for longer” and the yield on the 10-year Treasury reaching levels not seen since 2007 as the Israel-Hamas conflict raises oil supply disruption concerns, pushing crude prices higher.
In Europe, investor sentiment remained negative on Friday, resulting in a decline in stock markets. Disappointing earnings reports and persistent geopolitical concerns weighed heavily on investor confidence. The Stoxx Europe 600 was lower by -0.8%, with the healthcare sector leading declines. while in the UK, the FTSE-100 index closed down by -0.9%. The country-level indices closed negatively in a range of -0.3% to -1.4%.
In Asia, the unexpectedly high reading for consumer inflation in Tokyo raised hopes the central bank might finally end its longstanding near-zero interest rate policy. The benchmarks in Japan showed a positive performance (Topix: +1.4%, Nikkei 225: +1.3%), while in China, the indices fell by (Shanghai Composite: -1.0%, Hang Seng: -2.1%), while the other country indices moved in a range of +0.4% to +1.0%.