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Tadawul Shares End Tuesday Muted; Saudi Arabia's August Construction Cost Index Ticks Up

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The Tadawul All Share Index closed Tuesday subdued at 0.01% in red as investors assessed the kingdom's latest economic release before the market closes on Wednesday for Saudi National Day.

According to the General Authority of Statistics, the country's construction cost index increased 2.3% year over year in August. Month over month, the index edged up 0.1%.

"CCI for the residential sector increased by 2.1% year-on-year. This increase was mainly attributed to the increase in the costs of basic materials by 1.8%, driven by an increase in the prices of metal products by 2.0%. The costs of renting equipment and machinery also increased by 4.1%, driven by the increase in the costs of renting equipment and machinery with an operator by 5.6%. Labor costs also increased by 5.1%, while the energy prices rose by 3.0," the report said.

In other news, the kingdom is reportedly conducting tests to restart the operations of the East-West pipeline after it halted operations due to a drone attack earlier in the month, media reports said.

On the corporate front, Almoosa Health (SASE:4018) shares rose 0.70% as it signed a 24-month contract for the mechanical and electrical works of the Almoosa Specialized Hospital project.

Meanwhile, the board of Saudi Ground Services (SASE:4031) resolved to distribute a dividend of 1 Saudi riyal per share for the second half of 2025. The passenger and aircraft ground-handling services company will pay the dividend on Oct. 20. Shares ticked up 9.98% at closing.

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Asia Markets

Update: Communication Services, Tech Heavyweights Push US Equity Indexes Higher as Crude Oil Slides With Treasury Yields

(Updates with index/price moves and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes rose as heavyweight communication services and technology names advanced amid sliding crude oil and government bond yields.The Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.3% to 27,122.09, the S&P 500 climbed 1.5% to 7,764.70, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.7% to 52,048.83 on Monday. Consumer discretionary was among the top gainers, while energy was the standout decliner.Among stocks with market capitalization exceeding $200 billion, Arm (ARM), Intel (INTC), and Meta Platforms (META) were among the top 10 companies, according to data compiled by Finviz. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) closed above a $1 trillion market cap.Saudi Aramco loaded about 14 million barrels of crude oil on seven supertankers inside the Mideast Gulf on Sunday, Reuters cited data from TankerTrackers.com, as the kingdom increased loadings from Gulf export terminals after an attack disrupted shipments via its east-west pipeline to the Red Sea.The loadings add to signs of a partial recovery in Saudi shipments, with expectations of higher volumes weighing on oil prices on Monday and helping push the Brent benchmark below $100 a barrel for the first time since Sept. 9, the news report said.Separately, Iran and the US exchanged new threats on Sunday, although President Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to be in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly, according to Reuters.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract slumped 4.9% to $95.43 per barrel, while the global benchmark North Sea Brent dropped 3.7% to $100.06 per barrel.Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee (nonvoter) said that strong demand could be driving inflation and that the Federal Reserve's job of lowering the pace of price growth back down to the 2% goal may necessitate further rate increases that could negatively impact employment and economic growth."We need evidence that these shocks are actually fading, or it's hard to see a credible path back to 2% inflation -- and harder still to justify continuing to look through them," said Goolsbee, who is an alternate member of the Federal Open Market Committee this year.Most US Treasury yields declined, with the 10-year yield down 4.1 basis points to 4.96%, retreating from its highest level since 2007.Gold futures fell 1% to $4,379.7, and silver futures declined 1% to $66.50.In company news, Paramount Skydance (PSKY) has reached a settlement agreement with California and other states that sued to block the company's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Bloomberg reported Monday, citing a person familiar with the matter. Warner Bros. shares surged nearly 11%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AMD$ARM$INTC$PSKY$WBD
Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Advance as Communication Services, Technology Giants Jump Amid Slumping Crude Oil

(Updates with index/price moves and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes rose as mega-cap communication services and technology names jumped amid a decline in crude oil and government bond yields.The Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.1% to 27,085.5, the S&P 500 climbed 1.4% to 7,754.7, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.6% to 51,993.7 after midday Monday.The communication services sector was among the top gainers, while energy led a trio of decliners.Among stocks with market capitalization exceeding $200 billion, Arm (ARM), Intel (INTC), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) led the top 10, according to data compiled by Finviz. Advanced Micro Devices traded above $1 trillion intraday.Iran and the US exchanged new threats on Sunday, although President Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to be in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly, according to Reuters."Middle East oil flows remain surprisingly resilient despite the disruption to Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline," Reuters cited JPMorgan analysts in a Friday note."The most notable shift has come from Saudi Arabia," the analysts said, noting that satellite data showed Saudi oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 2.9 million barrels per day over the past six days, compared with just 700,000 barrels per day in August.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract slumped 4.7% to $95.55 per barrel, while the global benchmark North Sea Brent dropped 3.7% to $99.97per barrel.Policymakers can no longer afford to look through supply shocks that have become a regular feature of the economy, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said Monday."We need evidence that these shocks are actually fading, or it's hard to see a credible path back to 2% inflation -- and harder still to justify continuing to look through them," said Goolsbee, who is an alternate member of the Federal Open Market Committee this year.Most US Treasury yields declined, with the 10-year yield down 2.7 basis points to 4.97%, retreating from its highest level since 2007.In company news, Paramount Skydance (PSKY) settled with a coalition of 12 state attorneys general, resolving the states' lawsuit alleging that the proposed merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) would harm competition, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said. Paramount shares were among the top gainers on the S&P 500 intraday.Gold futures fell 1% to $4,379.20, and silver futures declined 1.3% to $66.31.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AMD$ARM$INTC$PSKY$WBD
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds Rise as US Equities Advance After Midday

Broad Market IndicatorsBroad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV were higher. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) added 2.5%.US equity indexes rose as mega-cap technology names perked up amid sliding government yields and crude oil after midday Monday.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) slid 2% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) dipped 2%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) added 2.4%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) rose 2.5%, and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) gained 2.7%.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) rose 3.2%, and iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) was up 4.5%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was 0.5% higher. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) climbed 1.3%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), declined 1.2%.CommoditiesCrude oil dropped 5.9%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) was down 4.3%. Natural gas fell 2.7%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) moved 0.9% lower.Gold on Comex slipped 1%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was down 0.7%. Silver fell 1%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) eased 0.6%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) fell 0.1% and the Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) added 0.1%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was up 1.3%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) added 0.5%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) rose 1.5%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) rose 0.6%, while iShares US Healthcare (IYH) and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) added 0.5% each. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was up 1.1%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) added 0.7%. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was up 0.8% and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) rose 0.6%.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) climbed 5.9%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) was 5.8% higher, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) was up 4.5%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) gained 6.5%.

Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH