Tadawul Review:

Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) fell on Wednesday (putting an end to an eight-day winning streak) by -198 (-1.6%) to close at 11,929 levels. TASI opened the session on a negative note of -32 points and continued to decline throughout the session until the end. In general, 16 out of 20 sectors closed in the red zone, while 170 of 223 shares fell and 52 rose. Banks (-2.3%), Materials (-1.9%), and Utilities (-3.8%) sectors contributed the most to the index fall. Stockwise, Al Rajhi Bank (-2.5%), ACWA Power (-5.4%), and Maaden (-3.3%) were the major contributors. The trading activity witnessed a significant increase in volume and value by 65% and 11%, respectively, to reach 604mn shares ‎and SAR11bn in value traded.

 

 

Market Wrap International:

In the U.S., the S&P 500 closed lower by -0.8% with 8 out of 11 sectors fell as markets weighed concerns about the U.S. economy against potential supply disruptions from ongoing tensions in the Red Sea. The Nasdaq Composite fell by -1.2%, while analysts expect crude stockpiles to fall while distillate and gasoline stocks are predicted to rise ahead of the weekly U.S. inventory reports.

 

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.9% on Wednesday as the rally from the previous year began to lose momentum. Investors remained watchful for significant developments throughout the day that could provide clues regarding global monetary policy. The FTSE 100 index closed lower by -0.5% following the data from Germany, which experienced a small rise in unemployment in December, below analysts' expectations.

 

In Asia, the Hang Seng was -0.8% while the Shanghai Composite was +0.2%, as China's leading banks have intensified their scrutiny of smaller peer institutions' asset quality and have implemented stricter standards. The Japanese markers were closed on Wednesday.