It’s a tale of two cities in global markets this morning as Wall Street traders wonder how much longer the rally will last after the Dow and S&P notched fresh highs. A continent away, their counterparts in China are looking forward to generating fees by helping the government deploy bns to shore up slumping stocks.
UP FIRST- The Dow has broken past 38k for the first time and the S&P 500 reached a new high yesterday. The story is front-page news on the WSJ and Reuters.
Asian markets are flirting with the green in early trading this morning. US and European futures are largely flat at dispatch time, suggesting investors are taking stock. Traders are “deliberating how long the gains can persist, especially as the rally this year has centered around tech stocks such as Nvidia, while broader participation has continued to disappoint,” CNBC writes.
MEANWHILE- Chinese state-owned companies could be getting ready to push as much as USD 278 bn into stocks in a bid to stabilize a slumping market, Bloomberg writes, “after earlier attempts to restore investor confidence fell short.” State enterprises could be directed under the plan to invest in shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The caveat: Officials are looking at other options and are expected to make an announcement as early as this week if they get signoff from leadership in Beijing.
IN CONTEXT- China could face 3-6 months of rough economic conditions marked by deflation and “rock-bottom” consumer confidence, a top strategist says — and that’s without factoring in the potential impact of shipping disruptions in the Red Sea thanks to the Houthis.
SIGN OF THE TIMES- BlackRock is reorganizing to capture more business from clients rotating out of cash ahead of anticipated interest rate cuts. The big emphasis: A single exec leading a new unit in charge of product creation across the board. The move comes just days after its USD 12.5 bn acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners. (Financial Times)
TASI |
12,110.32 |
+0.9% (YTD: +1.2%) |
|
MSCI Tadawul 30 |
1,575.62 |
+1.2% (YTD: +1.6%) |
|
USD : SAR (SAMA) |
3.75 Buy |
3.75 Sell |
|
Interest rates |
6% repo |
5.5% reverse repo |
|
EGX30 |
28,050.33 |
+1.2% (YTD: 12.7%) |
|
ADX |
9,680.45 |
-0.33% (YTD: +1%) |
|
DFM |
4,081.24 |
-0.01% (YTD: +0.53%) |
|
S&P 500 |
4,864.73 |
+0.5% (YTD: +2%) |
|
FTSE 100 |
7,479.45 |
+0.2% (YTD: +3.4%) |
|
Euro Stoxx 50 |
4,482.89 |
+0.8% (YTD: -0.9%) |
|
Brent crude |
USD 79.35 |
+1% |
|
Natural gas (Nymex) |
USD 2.40 |
-4.9% |
|
Gold |
USD 2,042.60 |
-0.3% |
|
BTC |
USD 40,509.70 |
-3.1% (YTD: +91.8%) |
THE CLOSING BELL-
The TASI rose 0.9% yesterday on turnover of SAR 9.4 bn. The index is up +1.2% YTD.
In the green: Alhokair Group (+10%), MBC Group (+9.9%) and Takween (+6.4%).
In the red: Fitness Time (-2.2%), SVCP (-2.1%) and Tawuniya (-2.1%).
CORPORATE ACTION-
Nomu-listed Atlas Elevators has decided to deposit the remaining IPO proceeds worth SAR 18 mn into one of the local banks at the going interest rate, they said in a disclosure to Tadawul. This deposit will be used at a later stage to finance the company’s expansion plan.