Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) declined by -79 points (-0.7%) on Wednesday to close at 11,407 levels, the lowest since mid-October. The decline in the price of Brent crude oil pulled the TASI down on Wednesday. TASI opened the session negatively at lower levels, down 19 points from the previous close, and continued its decline for the rest of the session. TASI was trading in the 109-point range. In general, 16 sectors out of 20 closed in the red zone, while 73 rose and 131 shares declined. Energy (-1.7%), Materials (-0.8%), and Utilities (-3%) sectors contributed the most to the decline in the index by a total of 37 points. Among stocks, ACWA Power (-4.2%), Saudi National Bank (-1%), and SABIC (-1.1%) pulled the index down the most. Trading activity also witnessed a decline in volume and value by 18% and 19%, respectively, to reach 120mn shares and SAR4.8bn. The index has come close to levels where it had earlier taken support. The index may move sideways in near-term.
The global equity markets retreated on Wednesday ahead of much-anticipated CPI data release in the U.S. The midterm elections in the U.S produced a thin but largely expected majority for the Republicans in the lower house, further substantiating investors’ fears of possible challenges in passage important legislations (debt ceiling, corporate tax etc) for the ruling party. The economic data and growing number of COVID-19 cases in China were also in focus. In the U.S, the benchmark indices dropped by 2% and -2.5% with led by Energy and Consumer Discretionary. The treasury yields reversed the decline while dollar index further retreated.
In Europe, the Stoxx Euro 600 Index snapped a three-day rally and dropped by 0.3% at session close. Investors also closely tracked newsflow on fiscal plans to be presented on 17th Nov by the new government in U.K and economic data in the region. Euro and Pound remained steady despite higher treasury yields in the U.S.
In Asia, equity markets in Hong Kong (HangSeng: -1.2%) and China (Shanghai Composite: -0.5%) once again gave up recent gains on growing concerns on increasing COVID cases and latest inflation data in China. Tech heavy indices like Korea (KOSPI: +1.1%), Taiwan (TAIEX: +2.2%) outperformed the region. Indices in Japan (TOPIX: -0.4%) and India (SENSEX: -0.2%) recorded modest losses.