Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) ended the last week’s session on a free fall, losing 230 points (-1.8%) to close at 12,368 levels as Russia started invading Ukraine after a couple of weeks of tensions. The market opened sharply in red and by noon, the market deepened the loss to reach a low of 12,190, down 338 points (-2.7%).  Before closing, TASI posted a mild recovery reducing losses by 108 points. All sectors but Energy closed in the red. Banks lost 2.7%, Telecom dipped 1.8%, and Materials fell -0.8%. The energy sector increased by 1.5%, courtesy of Aramco, which increased by +2% and became the second-largest company globally in terms of market capitalization. TASI is likely to witness value buying as investors are likely to flock towards stocks trading at attractive levels given the recent recovery in international markets.

Market Wrap International:

Even as deadly attacks continued in Ukraine, Wall Street completed a tumultuous week of trading on Friday with a broad surge for stocks as relief flowed through the market. The S&P 500 rose 2.2 percent this week, marking the first weekly rise in three weeks. The benchmark index was consolidating gains after a tumultuous Thursday that saw it swing from a 2.6 percent loss to a 1.5 percent gain. Uncertainty about how much Russia's invasion will push up inflation, notably oil and natural gas costs, and strain on the global economy has sent stocks soaring. Oil prices fell below $100 a barrel, alleviating some fears about rising energy costs. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both gained for the week.

 

Most major European equites rebounded on Friday to erase Thursday’s losses as bargain hunters jumped in to cherry pick beaten down stocks owing to ongoing Russia and Ukraine military conflict. The broad-based European index Stoxx600 advanced by +3.3% on Friday, replacing losses incurred on Thursday (-3.3%). In Germany, DAX improved slightly in the morning session but then rallied in the afternoon to close +3.7% higher. In the UK, FTSE100 surged +3.9%. While in France, CAC40 finally ended its streak of 7 session of losses and rose +3.6%.

 

In Asia, markets closed in the green zone as global markets showed sings of improvement while the geopolitical tensions are still a concern. In China, after the market had followd global decline on Thursday and lost -1.7% (biggest drop in a month), SHCOMP reversed on Friday and gained +0.6% led by Tech and Care sectors. Nikkei225, Kospi, and Sensex were among the gainers on Friday, rsising by +2%, +1.1% and +2.4% respectively. HangSeng on the other hand was not able to hold on to early session gains and closed -0.6%.