Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) ended Thursday’s session ‎positively by 46 points (0.4%) to close at 11,119 levels. TASI ‎had opened the session negatively, down by 47 points from ‎the previous close. The index, however, made a recovery to ‎close at its intraday high. In general, 15 out of 20 sectors ‎closed in the green zone, while 156 stocks rose and 56 fell. ‎Telecom (1.9%), Materials (0.5%), and Real Estate (1.8%) ‎sectors contributed the most to the index' rise of 26 points. ‎Stockwise, Saudi Telecom (1.9%), Al Rajhi Bank (0.4%), and ‎Jabal Omar (3.3%) contributed most to the rise of the index. ‎The trading activity witnessed a decline in volume and value ‎of -24% and -22%, respectively, to reach 176mn shares and ‎SAR4.7bn in value traded. The index is likely to move ‎sideways and consolidate its recent gains. A strong recovery in ‎oil prices bodes well for the investors' confidence. ‎

 

 

Market Wrap International:

The global equity markets partially made partial recovery ‎from the losses suffered in the preceding four sessions. The ‎stronger than expected job report in the U.S, solid results ‎from Apple Inc. and strong economic data in China set the ‎stage for the change in course in the U.S and Europe. The ‎labor market data on Friday showed the U.S. Economy added ‎jobs well ahead of the consensus forecast. The data served to ‎allay concern on the slow-down in economic activity and ‎reaffirm investors' view on the strength of the job market. The ‎secondary market yields on the U.S treasuries rose by 6-13bps. ‎The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose by 1.8% and 2.2%. ‎The mid-sized banks in the U.S recovered from deep losses ‎through the week. Energy, tech and financial were the major ‎gainers on the S&P 500.‎

In Europe, the Stosx Europe 600 Index solidified its recovery ‎on the U.S job report and closed with 1.1% gains on Friday. ‎The country level indices too recorded sizable gains. The ‎downshift in rate hiking cycle by the ECB a day before carried ‎no major surprise for the investors and as such drove a relief ‎rally. ‎

 

In Asia, the service activity in China continued the surge in ‎April, albeit at a slower pace than anticipated. Investors also ‎derived comfort from the gains in trading of futures of banking ‎stocks in the U.S. Markets. Overall, markets moved in ‎divergent directions with Hang Seng (+0.5%) and Taiex (+0.1) ‎recording gains while Sensex and Shanghai Composite ‎registering losses. Markets in Japan and Korea were closed for ‎trading.  ‎