Tadawul Review:
Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) fell for the second day by -68 (-0.6%) to close at 11,036 levels. TASI opened the session on a slightly positive note with 2 points increase and continued to rise, reaching its intraday high in the first trading hour. However, the index started to decline after the initial jump during the session until the end. In general, 16 out of 20 sectors closed in the red zone, while 172 of 223 shares fell and 41 rose. Banks (-0.9%), Materials (-0.8%), and Media (-5.9%) sectors contributed the most to the index fall. Stockwise, Al Rajhi Bank (-1.4%), Saudi National Bank (-1.2%), and Sabic (-1.6%) were the major contributors. The trading activity witnessed a significant increase in volume and value by 38% and 39%, respectively, to reach 205mn shares and SAR5.6bn in value traded.
The global stock markets saw a decline on Monday, accompanied by a strengthening of the US dollar, as concerns over economic growth tested investors' confidence. The current week is packed with key central bank meetings in several countries, including Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, with Six out of eleven listed sectors rising, and the Nasdaq Composite slightly rose by 0.01%. The yields on 2–10-year tenures were in a range between -0.6 and +0.4 bps.
In Europe, investors are proceeding with caution as stocks remain in the red, as they await the central bank policy decisions scheduled this week. The Stoxx Europe 600 edged down by -1.1%, dragged by healthcare, bank, and chip shares, and the FTSE 100 index closed down by -0.8%. The country-level indices closed negatively within a range of (-1.4|-1.0%).
In Asia, stocks fell with the tech sector leading the downward trend amid a busy week of central bank decisions. While there were initial signs of stabilization in China's economy, concerns lingering over the property crisis have offset the positive momentum. The Chinese indices ended the session with the Shanghai Composite increasing by +0.3%, while Hang Seng dropped -1.4%. Shares in Chine Evergrande Group (3333.HK) also fell after police detained some staff at its wealth management unit. The Japanese benchmark remained closed on Monday, while other major indices closed within a range of -0.1 to +0.4.