Tadawul Review: 

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) ended the last day of January 2024 with a significant decline on Wednesday, down by -189 points (-1.6%) to close at the 11,797 level, capping the monthly losses at -171 points (MoM: -1.4%, YTD: -1.4%). TASI continued declining throughout the session to close at its intraday low. In general, 8 out of 20 sectors closed in the red zone, while 92 of 223 shares fell and 120 rose. Banks (-3.5%), Energy (-2.2%), and Telecom (-0.7%) sectors contributed the most to the index fall. Stockwise, Al Rajhi Bank (-4.7%), Aramco (-2.2%), and Saudi National Bank (-3.6%) were the major contributors. The trading activity witnessed a decline in volume and value by -21% and -9%, respectively, to reach 282mn shares ‎and SAR8.6bn in value traded.

 

 

Market Wrap International:

In the U.S., following the Federal Reserve's decision to  held interest rates steady at 5.5%, the S&P 500 closed the day with a decline of -1.6% with all of 11 sectors falling. Similarly, the Nasdaq composite also saw a negative trend, ending the day down by -2.2% ahead of the quarterly results from Microsoft (MSFT.O), Alphabet (GOOGL.O), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) that failed to meet investor expectations.

In Europe, as French consumer prices fell in January, the likelihood of the European Central Bank implementing easing monetary policy. The Stoxx Europe 600 index saw a slight rise of 0.01%. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 index closed with losses of -0.5% as investors digested corporate earnings and regional inflation data following the Federal Reserve's first meeting of the year.

In Asia, investor sentiment remains highly bearish towards China, as expectations of government support only lead to temporary rallies followed by further selling. The Hang Seng Index dropped by -1.4%, and the Shanghai Composite Index experienced a decline of -1.5% In Japan, the TOPIX index rose by 1.0%, and the Nikkei 225 managed a modest gain of 0.6%.