Saturday, August 6, 2011

First Response To Downgraded "Non-Event": Saudi Tadawul Down 5.5%


Those seeking a harbinger of what may be in store for global capital markets come Sunday 5 pm should look to Saudi Arabia where the Tadawul just dropped by over 5% today.
Saudi Arabia's Tadawul index fell 5.46pc on Saturday.

Sayeth the Telegraph: "The Tadawul All-Shares Index closed down 350.43 points 6,073.44 as all shares tumbled following a tumultous week for global markets which was capped by Standard & Poor's cutting the US credit rating over its $14.3 trillion deficit and debt. "The S&P rating and problems in Europe... have scared investors," said financial analyst Abdulwahab Abu Dahesh. The Saudi market was the first to react globally to the S&P statement late on Friday, with the start of the trading week in Saudi Arabia, while all other markets remained shut for the weekend. Analysts expect markets in Asia and Europe to follow the Tadawul lower on Monday. "Saudi shares have reacted to two events: sharp drops on Thursday in markets, especially oil, and the S&P cut of the US rating," economist Mohammed al-Omran told Al-Arabiya news channel."

Granted Saudi Arabia may be reacting more to the fact that crude plunged by about 15% last week than anything, although absent some very motivated buying force we do believe that some rather substantial downward momentum is imminent, especially once some "unintended consequence" pops up. And when you have a historic event like a US downgrade, there always are unintended consequences.

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