Tadawul Review:

TASI recovered 163 points (+1.2%) after the previous session’s loss to close at 13,669 levels. This was mainly because of ARAMCO, which jumped +2.1% to contribute to the overall increase of +2% in the Energy sector. The Capital Markets Authority approved the application for a capital increase in SAUDI ARAMCO to SAR75 bn on Tuesday, which will be raised via bonus issue. Furthermore, the Banks sector went up by +2% to close in the green after incurring a loss in the last session. Saudi Home Loans (SHL) commenced its first trading session on Wednesday increasing by a whopping 30% to close at SAR 26/sh amid trading of 12.9 million shares. The Health Care Equipment sector witnessed a massive gain of +3.1% attributed to most of the firms closing in the green within the sector. The top gaining sector of TASI was the Media and Entertainment which climbed 5%. Trading volumes rose by +1.1% while the value decreased by -3%.

Market Wrap International:

In the United States, there was a mixed trading session, with larger cap industrial equities outperforming technology companies. International Business Machines (IBM), which gained +7.1%, led the Dow Jones Industrials up by +0.7% to 35,161. The S&P500 ended the day essentially unchanged, down -0.06% to 4,459, while the Nasdaq100 lost -1.5% to 13,999. The Nasdaq was dragged down by Netflix (NFLX), which fell more than -35% after reporting Q1 earnings. Tesla (TSLA) on the other hand, posted better-than-expected results, with profit of US$3.22 per share, much above the $2.27 per share average. The company's shares closed down US$50.95 (-4.9%) at US$977.20 a share, equating to a market capitalization of just over US$1 trillion, however the results were released after the close, and prices have rallied over 5% in aftermarket trading.

In Europe, most markets closed today’s session higher while energy prices remained stable at elevated levels. The European Stoxx 600 managed to rise in today’s session by +0.8% after experiencing a loss yesterday. In Germany, DAX ended today’s session in the green zone by +1.5%. However, since the start of Feb 2022, DAX has struggled from the geopolitical tensions and has lost roughly (-9.4%). Similarly, CAC 40 gained +1.4% today while since Feb performance stands at nearly -6.9%. FTSE 100 rose by +0.4%, and seems to be the least affected by the geopolitical issues as its return since Feb has been +1%.

Asian stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday as investors cautiously observe the tech-led rally on Wall Street and China’s Covid challenges. SHCOMP underwent a session of loss, falling by -1.4% as Chinese lending rates left investors disappointed. In Hong Kong, Hang Seng remained in the red zone, losing -0.4%. In Japan, however, the Nikkei 225 index gained +0.9% after the release of economic data which showed YoY growth in exports in March 2022 by +14.7%. Moreover, KOSPI ended the session flat while SENSEX went up by +1% after undergoing five consecutive sessions of losses.