Tadawul Review:
Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closed down on Monday by -95 points (-1%) to settle at 11,422 levels. TASI started Monday’s session on a negative note (-15 points) and continued its decline till it reached its intraday low of -129, but TASI minimize its losses at the closing auction by adding +34 points. In general, 18 out of 20 sectors closed in the red zone, while 188 stocks fell and 31 rose. Banks (-0.6%), Materials (-0.8%), and Food and beverages (-2.8%) sectors were the major drags on the index and contributed a total of -49 points. Stocks-wise, Al Rajhi Bank (-1.4%), Almarai (-5.2%), and Aramco (-0.6%) pulled the index down the most. The trading volume activity decreased by -33% DoD to reach 303mn shares, while the trading value increased by 13% DoD to reach SAR6.1 bn.
The global equity markets dropped on Monday, with traded volumes affected by the closure of trading in the U.S due to a national holiday. The futures contracts on the U.S key equity benchmarks moved in a narrow range.
In Europe, a strong recent performance and a lack of fresh triggers led investors to book profits. The much-hyped stimulus package in China to stimulate the economic recovery failed to materialize. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.7% on Monday. The country level indices too followed suit and were down 0.1-0.7%. In a major highlight, the 2-year yield on the U.K bond crossed the 5% mark for the first time since the Global Financial Crisis. Two major updates for the U.K market are the release of CPI data and the decision of the Bank of England later this week.
In Asia, the conclusion of the State Council’s meeting over the weekend without any major public announcement of the economic stimulus package disappointed the investors. However, the disappointment was contained by a positive statement from a meeting of a visiting high-level US official in China, which would help reduce the geopolitical tension between the two countries over Taiwan. The key indices in the region were down by 0.1|1.0%.