Tadawul Review: 

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) ended Sunday’s session with ‎a slight upward by 1 point to close at 11517 levels. TASI ‎opened the session positively, by 19 points, and reached its ‎intraday high by 57 points from the previous close in the first ‎hour of trading. However, TASI then gradually declined during ‎the remainder of the session to close at its intraday low. In ‎general, 12 out of 20 sectors closed in the green zone, while ‎‎120 of 223 stocks rose and 95 fell. Health care equipment ‎and services (+2.8%), Materials (+0.4%), and Food and ‎beverages (+1.1%) sectors contributed the most to the ‎index's +21-point rise. Stockwise, Mouwasat (+6.1%), Almarai ‎‎(+2.4%), and ACWA Power (+1.0%) were the major ‎contributors. The trading activity witnessed a decline in ‎volume and value of -23% and -42%, respectively, to reach ‎‎450mn shares and SAR5.4bn in value traded.‎

 

 

Market Wrap International:

The preceding week saw markets move higher in the backdrop of a slew of major policy decisions by the central banks and the release of crucial economic data on inflation both in the U.S. and Europe. The optimism over the stimulus package in China also weighed on, especially in Asian markets. The latest market performance and the Fed Chair’s comments on a possible rate hike in the future have made investors more sensitive to economic data releases and Fed Speak. The future market move will likely be driven by fears of recession and the need for and timing of future rate hikes. The upcoming data on housing, and the labor market for the former and the Fed Chair’s semiannual congressional testimony for the latter are considered important updates for the U.S. market.

In Europe, the policy rate decision by the ECB proved to be uneventful, as the central bank lifted rates by another 25bps and promised to make similar moves in the future. The inflation data in the U.K. and Euro area flash composite PMI are the two key data points for the region. On the policy front, the Bank of England is expected to raise rates by another 25bps. Investors are keen to see the latest guidance from the BoE on future rate decisions given the surprising increase in inflation last month.

In Asia, all eyes will be on China given the expectations of the announcement of new measures to boost economic recovery in the country. Besides, the market will also look for details on the recent high-profile visit of a U.S. official to China for a possible easing of geopolitical tension between the two countries. CPI data in Japan is due this week and, as such, may not have any implication for the continuation of the Bank of Japan’s current ultra-loose monetary policy.