Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) ended its two-day winning streak and shed 204 points (-1.7%) to close the week at 11,523 levels. The market looked weak from the beginning of the session and kept on gradually declining throughout the day. However, during the closing auction, the market declined by further 65 points to close at its lowest levels of the day. 17 of 20 sectors closed in the red with Banks (-2.7%), Materials (-1.4%), and Telecom (-2.3%) sectors leading the losses. Al Rajhi Bank (-2.6%), Saudi National Bank (-3.5%), and ARAMCO (-1.0%) pulled the index down the most. Overall, trading activity inched up as volume and value traded rose by 7% and 11% DoD to 178mn shares and SAR6.5bn. TASI has had a mixed week recording 3 sessions of positive closing while 2 negative sessions. Overall, the index has managed to add 213 points (+1.9%) increasing back its YTD return to 2.1%. Investors continue to remain cautious as global recession concerns continue to govern market direction.

 

 

Market Wrap International:

The global equity indices posted a mixed performance on Friday as investors showed indecisiveness amid more signs of economic slow-down across regions. In the U.S, the benchmark S&P 500 Index managed to give a positive closing (+1.1%) despite intraday volatility. The weak performance of the major indices in the preceding sessions saw a dip-buying though the latest data on new orders and factory employment in the U.S recorded an above-expected drop in June-2022. The economic data spurred a rally in bonds with the yield on the U.S 10-year bond falling by 13bps to 2.88% due to growing worries over the recession.

In Europe, the Stoxx Euro 600 Index meandered through the session in gains and losses on Friday and closed little changed (-0.1%). The latest data in the region this week has further sidestepped concerns about inflation. The yields on the bonds of major markets in the region remained elevated due to the expectation of a rate hike by the ECB in the upcoming meeting.

The latest economic data in the U.S dragged tech-heavy indices in Asia, particularly KOSPI (-1.2) in Korea and TAIEX (-3.3%) in Taiwan as weak demand in the U.S would impact exports to U.S. Stock in China (Shanghai Composite: -0.3%, primarily due to profit-taking) and Japan (Topix:-1.4%, soft manufacturing outlook in the latest central bank survey) also fell. The equity market in Hong Kong was closed for the national holiday.