External Background.
The U.S. stock markets closed yesterday with significant declines. The Nasdaq index dropped by 3.6%, while the S&P 500 fell by 2.3%. This daily drop in the Nasdaq was the largest since October 2022. Yesterday, investors were still focused on Alphabet and Tesla, which reported earnings on Tuesday after the market closed and immediately showed declines in post-market trading. With the opening of the main session, the sell-off continued: Tesla fell by 12.3%, and Alphabet by 5%. The European Stoxx 600 index also dropped by 0.6%, mainly due to a 2.4% decline in the technology sector. In addition, the report from the Dutch chip equipment manufacturer ASM International disappointed the markets, and its shares fell by 9.4%. Asian markets also showed significant declines this morning. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell by 1.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped by as much as 3.3%. The continued strengthening of the yen against the dollar also affected Japanese stocks. Oil prices remained neutral yesterday, while copper fell by another 1.2% amid pessimism over China's economic growth.
Bonds.
The yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds rose slightly yesterday, reaching 4.28%.
KASE Index.
The KASE index slightly recovered lost ground on Wednesday, continuing to move sideways. Despite the continued decline in Kaspi.kz shares, a notable recovery in Air Astana and Kazatomprom shares lifted the index.
Index Stocks.
The biggest gainers yesterday were Air Astana and Kazatomprom shares. The recent announcement of the upcoming release (on August 5) of Air Astana's financial report for the first half of the year likely played a significant role in this. Let us recall that the Kazakh airline market grew by 15% in the first half, which should positively impact the company's results given its high market share. Kazatomprom shares rose by 1.1% despite neutral results on the LSE. The price difference between the two exchanges has now increased to 2.7% in favor of KASE. Kaspi.kz shares continued to decline, narrowing the price gap between the two exchanges. The bank's ADRs saw a slight 0.1% drop yesterday, despite Nasdaq's "bloody Wednesday." The stock remains within an upward trend and has made a second consecutive attempt to rise. We also note another growth attempt by KazMunayGas shares, which are trying to recover after Friday's drop. It was reported yesterday that Kazakhstan will compensate for the under-reduction in oil production by 620,000 barrels per day until the end of September 2025. It is still unclear in what proportion the reduction will affect different oil assets.
Currency.
During currency trading yesterday, the dollar temporarily rose to 475 tenge, but the overall growth was insignificant: the last price reached 473.70 tenge. The weighted average price increased by 1.23 tenge. Trading volume dropped significantly. The sideways trading scenario remains relevant for the next few days.