UP FIRST- BTC is up again, breaking past the USD 44k barrier for the first time since 2022as investors pile into the cryptocurrency amid optimism that regulators in the United States will sign off on spot BTC exchange-traded funds, CNBC reports.

AND- Asian markets are bouncing back this morning after yesterday’s broad-based selloff. European and North American markets are set to follow later today, futures suggest.

GLOBAL BANK GLOOM-Banks across the world are in for a bumpy 2024 -Moody’s: Rating agency Moody’s has issued a negative outlook for the global banking sector in 2024, citing slower growth, rising default risk, and weaker financial performance.

#1- Slower growth: Growth will slow down as interest rates stay high “even as major central banks begin to cut rates.” This will limit business prospects and therefore limit loan growth across banks’ portfolios, which will prevent them from reaping the benefits of higher rates. “Elevated rates for the most part will lead to higher funding costs and greater asset risks among existing borrowers.”

#2- Bad loans: Financial conditions will reduce borrowers’ liquidity and income, making them unable to meet loan payments. That paired with higher debt-servicing costs will deteriorate loan performance among banks.

#3- Weaker profits: Moody’s believes that banks’ “profitability gains from the last two years will likely start to subside but remain sound,” citing higher funding costs and weaker loan demand due to heightened rates.

The news got attention from: Reuters and the Financial Times.

TASI

11,143.83

-0.4% (YTD: +6.4%)

MSCI Tadawul 30

1,433.85

-0.5% (YTD: -28.4%)

USD : SAR (SAMA)

3.75

–

Interest rates

6% repo

5.5% reverse repo

EGX30

25,128

-0.5% (YTD: +72.1%)

ADX

9,520.07

-0.2% (YTD: -6.8%)

DFM

3,978.20

-0.2% (YTD: +19.3%)

S&P 500

4,567.18

-0.1% (YTD: +19%)

FTSE 100

7,489.84

-0.3% (YTD: +0.5%)

Euro Stoxx 50

4,452.77

+0.9% (YTD: +17.4%)

Brent crude

USD 77.06

-1.2%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.71

+0.6%

Gold

USD 2,036.30

-0.3%

BTC

USD 44,036.83

+4.6% (YTD: +145.4%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The TASI fell 0.4% yesterday on turnover of SAR 5.86 bn.The index is up 6.4% YTD.

In the green: Enaya (+9.9%), Liva (+8.6%) and Amana Insurance (+8.3%).

In the red: DWF (-9.8%), Naseej (-7.5%) and Americana (-2.9%).

Riyadh Cement shares were basically flat in their first day of trading on Tadawul’s main market, closing up 0.05% at SAR 34.85. It was the company’s first day on the main market after upgrading from Nomu.

Fast fact: This brings the number of Tadawul-listed companies to 214, while the number of Nomu-Listed firms currently stands at 75, according to Argaam.

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

Nomu-listed Watani Steel will shutdown operations starting Friday, 15 December for a period of 20-25 days to perform scheduled maintenance, according to a Tadawul filing yesterday. This is not expected to have an effect on the company’s sales — it has inventory on hand to satisfy customer demand, having made the shutdown part of its 2024 business plan.

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