Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) gained 64 points (+0.5%), closing the session at 13,064 levels. TASI had a mixed start but then underwent a phase of gains for the remaining session before ending in the green zone. Many sectors closed on a positive note. The Energy sector recorded a gain of +0.4%, courtesy of ARAMCO which increased by +0.5%. YSCC, CITY CEMENT, and NAJRAN CEMENT maintained their upward momentum, thus contributing to the overall increase in the Materials sector by +0.8%. The Banking sector rose by +0.4% with all the banks closing in the green. The Utilities sector jumped +2.9% due to ACWA POWER which rose by a whopping +7.8% to hit an all-time high. Trading volumes and values increased by +4.4%, and +8.5%, respectively. TASI has crossed the much-coveted 13,000-mark and is at multi-year highs which can result in some profit-taking.

 

Market Wrap International:

On Monday, U.S. stocks climbed as investors awaited a busy week of economic data, but shorter-term Treasury yields jumped, flattening the yield curve. The S&P500 gained +0.7%, led by a +1.2% increase in technology and a +2.7% gain in consumer discretionary, with 61% of companies higher at the close. A +8.35% surge in Tesla Inc shares buoyed technology stocks after the firm tweeted that it would seek shareholders to vote on a new stock split. The Nasdaq Composite increased by +1.3%, while the Dow Jones increased by +0.27% and the Russell 2000 remained steady. In economic news, retail sales excluding vehicles in the United States increased by +1.2% in February, compared to +1.7% in January, ahead of consumer confidence statistics for March on Tuesday night.

In Europe, most indices were able to end the session higher as investors remained cautious from key risks such as geopolitical risk. The broad European index, Stoxx 600, rose slightly by +0.1% after closing flat in the session before. In Germany, DAX added +0.8% in the week’s first session. France’s CAC 40 closed the session positive, adding +0.5%. In the UK, although FTSE 100 was green for the majority of the session, it could not remain so at the close and ended slightly lower by -0.1%.

In Asia, the majority of indices have closed in the green zone with only a few ending the session negative. In China, SHCOMP underwent a mildly volatile session before rising in the last trading hour to close +0.1% higher. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index witnessed an upward momentum, increasing by +1.3% to close in the green. The Nikkei 225, however, recorded a loss of -0.7%. KOSPI ended flat, recording a minor loss of -0.02%. In India SENSEX closed in green, after falling for the past three sessions, gaining +0.4%.