Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) fell on Wednesday, down by -59 points (-0.5%) to close at 11,553 levels. TASI started the session positively, opening with a rise of 39 points, then started to decline, gradually reaching its lowest level in the first trading hour before minimizing its losses at the end. In general, 16 of 21 sectors closed in the red zone, and 163 shares fell while 52 rose. Materials (-1.0%), Utilities (-2.2%), and Insurance (-2.1%) sectors contributed the most to the index fall. Stockwise, ACWA Power (-2.7%), Sabic (-1.2%), and Sulaiman Al Habib (-1.3%) were the major contributors to the index’s fall. The trading activity witnessed a decline in volume by -7% to reach 285 shares, while the value traded increased by 14% to reach SAR8.0bn.

 

 

 

Market Wrap International:

The U.S. stock market closed on Wednesday, witnessing gains as the S&P 500 rose by 1.2% led by 2.68% Information Technology and the Nasdaq Composite increased by 2.0%. Investors are increasingly anticipating earlier rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, driven by recent economic data indicating a slowdown in economic growth.

In Europe, the Euro Stoxx 600 index rose by 0.8%, reflecting the global sentiment influenced by soft U.S. labor market data that increased expectations of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve. This comes ahead of the European Central Bank's upcoming key rate decision later this week. Additionally, the FTSE 100 index rose by 0.2% on Wednesday.

Asian markets were negative, with the Hang Seng and SHCOMP indices declining by -0.1 and -0.8 respectively. However, the TOPIX and NIKKEI 225 indices in Japan fell too by -1.4% and -0.9%. Japan's service activity remained robust in May, indicating sustained growth, and inflationary pressures have increased expectations for a future interest rate hike.