Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) barely managed to end its 3-‎day losing streak a very minor increase of +5 points (+0.05%) ‎on Tuesday to settle at 10,752 levels. TASI began the session ‎positively, up 15 points from the previous close, and ‎fluctuated between gains and losses during the day as it ‎traded within a range of 108 points. In general, 8 sectors ‎closed in the green zone, while 78 stocks rose and 117 ‎declined. Banks (-0.9%), Food and beverages (-1.8%), and ‎Real Estate (-0.8%) sectors put pressure on the index, while ‎the Energy (+2.9%) sector, and specifically the Aramco ‎‎(+3.1%), contributed to the index gains amid the rise in Brent ‎oil prices (~2.5%). Stocks-wise, Al Rajhi Bank (-1.8%), Saudi ‎National Bank (-1.9%), and Almarai (-2.8%) were the major ‎drags. The trading activity witnessed a decline in volume and ‎value by -1% and -7%, respectively, to reach 110mn shares ‎and SAR4.1bn. The index has respected its support levels in ‎the past two sessions. The technical indicators remain in ‎oversold conditions for now. The market lacks any definite ‎trigger in near-term and therefore may remain range bound ‎in near-term. ‎

 

 

Market Wrap International:

The optimism seems to have returned to global markets on Tuesday on latest COVID-19 updates in China and re-opening bats. Some of the major indices recovered losses suffered in the last session, while commodity prices made a strong rebound. Dollar weakness also contributed positively across markets. In the U.S., the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite managed to post minor losses of -0.2% and -0.6%, respectively. The strong recovery from the lows and the latest comments from Fed officials have made investors more cautious ahead of the next FOMC meeting due next week. Real Estate and Energy sectors were the major performers for the session.

In Europe, the Stoxx Euro 600 Index slightly declined -0.1%. Country level inflation data is fueling confidence that the worst of inflation has already passed and the central bank may adopt a less hawkish stance in the next policy meeting.

In Asia, HangSeng in Hong Kong and Shanghai Composite in ‎China were the pick for the day as both indices surged by ‎significant +5.2% and +2.3%. In the latest comments, the Chinese ‎health official stressed the need for vaccination of elderlies and ‎avoidance of excessive restriction. The comments refueled ‎investors' optimism of relaxation in current restrictions soon. ‎Energy, mining, and telecom were the major drivers in the region. ‎Other notable performances for the day include TAIEX (+1.1%), ‎Korea (KOSPI: +1%), and SENSEX (+0.3%). TOPIX in Japan slid by ‎‎0.6% and was a major underperformer for the day due to latest Fed ‎comments. ‎