Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) ended Tuesday’s session in the green, gaining 43 points (+0.3%) to close at 12,851 levels. Initially, the index declined sharply by -0.6% but then recovered within the first trading hour. The market sustained its upward momentum and maintained levels above the previous close for the remaining part of the session. All but six sectors ended on a positive note. The Energy sector rose by +0.1% despite the -0.5% decrease in ARAMCO. PETRO RABIGH posted a gain of +9.5%. The materials sector decreased by -1.0% due to most of the companies closing in the negative. The utilities sector rose by +2.9% courtesy of ACWA Power which increased by +3.3% to close at an all-time high SAR 113.2/sh. Trading volumes and values decreased by -8.3% and -7.9%, respectively. Investors are on the edge and await the decision of the West to ban Russian oil imports which will likely affect the market sentiment.

Market Wrap International:

The S&P 500 Index fluctuated between a 1% deficit and a 1.8% gain on Tuesday, before closing down -0.7%, continuing a four-day losing run. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index jumped as much as 2.6% in Tuesday's tumultuous session, after slipping back into a bear market in morning trade and finishing the day down 0.4%. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that the US will impose a ban on Russian fossil fuel imports, including oil, stating that "the US is targeting the main artery of Russia's economy". The United Kingdom has announced an oil import restriction, but will continue to allow natural gas and coal imports, while other European countries that rely more heavily on Russian energy will not join.

European stocks rose at first on rumors that the European Union is exploring joint bond sales to offset the war's aftermath and invest in energy and defense, but then fell back on the news of the oil embargo. The Euro Stoxx 600 reversed initial gains of +1.5% before concluding -0.4% lower as technology -2.8% and consumer staples -1.6% weighed on the index. The DAX was down slightly -0.02%, the CAC was down -0.3%, and the FTSE100 was up +0.1%.

Asian markets underwent another session of sharp decline amid rising oil prices. In China, the SH Composite extended its losses into the fifth day declining by -2.4%. Similarly, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng couldn’t hold early gains and closed -1.4% lower, the lowest since 8th July 2016. In Japan, Nikkei 225 closed at its sixteen months low falling by 1.7%. On the other hand, SENSEX managed to reverse its direction in the last trading hour to close +1.1% higher, ending its losing streak of four sessions led by the IT stocks.