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Emirati Equities Diverge as Middle East Tensions Intensify

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Emirati stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as continued strikes on energy infrastructure and shipping in the Middle East kept pushing oil prices up.

At the close of trading, the FTSE ADX General Index was up 0.174%, while the DFM General Index declined 0.823%.

Oil prices rose as Brent crude oil futures were trading at nearly $105.92 per barrel as of 3:41 pm UAE time, up 22% from the previous day. The higher prices are underpinned by persistent tensions in the Middle East, driven by escalating attacks from Iran-backed Houthis in the Red Sea and Saudi Arabia's closure of its east-west pipeline.

"A casual perusal of the headlines suggests that this all assertiveness from Iran and its proxies reflects a strategic shift by Iran, whereby it is no longer simply responding to escalation by the US and its allies, but is increasingly trying to drive an escalation," Macquarie said in a note.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said in a social media post that Iran wants to make a deal "quickly and badly," but he will determine if the US engages in negotiations or not. Trump, however, remains open to the talks.

Back home and on the corporate front, Apex Investment (ADX:APEX) gained 1.35% as its Enercap Energy unit partnered with Dubai Police to cooperate on research and development of autonomous maritime systems and unmanned surface vessels, while its Apex Energy Holding signed a strategic partnership deal to deploy supercapacitor storage systems in Germany.

Elsewhere, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co. (DFM:DU), d/b/a du, will unveil its advanced cybersecurity and sovereign artificial intelligence cloud capabilities for enterprise and government organizations at the GISEC Global 2026 cybersecurity event in Dubai. Du shares were 0.68% in the green at closing.

What else is happening in Asia Markets?

Asia Markets

Update: Semiconductors Help Push US Equity Indexes Lower While Benchmark Treasury Yield Hits 5%

(Updates with index/price moves and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes fell amid declines in mega-cap semiconductor names while the 10-year benchmark government bond yield crossed 5% as crude oil prices extended gains.The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6% to 26,146.41, the S&P 500 declined 0.5% to 7,619.98, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3% to 52,421.20 on Monday. Technology led decliners while communication services was among a trio of gainers.Dario Amodei, chief executive of AI chatbot Claude maker Anthropic, called on the industry Saturday to slow the pace of developing AI model capabilities. His three-step plan to ensure that safety measures keep pace with advances in AI model capabilities includes placing independent evaluators inside leading AI companies with "employee-like access." OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX (SPCX) CEO Elon Musk supported Amodei's call in posts on X.President Donald Trump, however, pushed back against any idea of new AI guardrails and criticized Amodei's call for restraint, Bloomberg reported. In a category of stocks with market capitalization exceeding $200 billion, Micron Technology (MU), SK Hynix (SKYH), and ASML (ASML) were among the bottom 10 on Monday, according to data compiled by Finviz.Iran wants to reach a deal with Washington, Trump said Monday. "The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage - The concept of which we are open to," Trump wrote in a social media post on Truth Social.Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia seeks to further boost crude oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz after attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia group forced it to halt a key pipeline that's been the main alternative route for getting its crude to global markets during the Iran war, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The kingdom had been raising shipments through the contested Hormuz waterway in the first 10 days of this month from August levels, and is now trying to increase supplies further, the person told the news agency.Gulf Arab states postponed a planned meeting with Iran, and Yemen's Houthis launched a fresh attack on Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract rose 1.8% to $101.84 per barrel, and the global benchmark North Sea Brent edged up 1.5% to $106.20 per barrel. Both crude types were off session highs.Ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcements on Wednesday, interest rate traders are now pricing in a 95% probability that the Fed will raise its target rate by 25 basis points, up from 33% a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.US Treasury yields rose across the curve. After hitting a high of 5.01% intraday, the 10-year yield was up 1.9 basis points to 4.99% in the final leg.In company news, Corning (GLW) said Friday it entered into an equity distribution agreement to sell its common stock from time to time, with an aggregate offering price of up to $2 billion. Corning shares sank nearly 14%, the worst performer on the S&P 500.In precious metals markets, gold futures dropped 1.6% to $4,337.3, and silver futures slumped 2.3% to $63.72.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$ASML$GLW$MU$SKHY$SPCX$TSLA
Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Retreat as 10-Year Treasury Yield Crosses 5% Threshold, Crude Oil Extends Gains

(Updates with index/price moves and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes declined after the 10-year benchmark government bond yield hit a 52-week high of 5.01% and crude oil jumped as inflation concerns mounted amid a widening war in Iran.The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% to 26,294.2, the S&P 500 declined 0.3% to 7,635.5, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% to 52,470.1 after midday Monday.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract jumped 1.6% to $101.64 per barrel, and the global benchmark North Sea Brent rose 1.2% to $105.91 per barrel.Gold futures dropped 1.3% to $4,353.30, and silver futures slumped 1.6% to $64.18.Gulf Arab states postponed a planned meeting with Iran, and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched a fresh attack on Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported.Iran wants to reach a deal with Washington, President Donald Trump said Monday. "The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage - The concept of which we are open to," Trump wrote in a social media post on Truth Social.Yemen's Houthis launched a large-scale ballistic missile and drone attack on Saudi Arabia's King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait and claimed "direct hits," Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported. Riyadh gave no immediate response, the news agency said. The Iran-backed rebels captured more strategic islands in the southern Red Sea, strengthening their control of a crucial Bab al-Mandeb shipping route, the news outlet cited the rebels as saying.Meanwhile, ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcements on Wednesday, interest rate traders are now pricing in a 90% probability that the Fed will raise its target rate by 25 basis points, up from 33% a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The odds of another policy pause next week plunged to 10% from 67% a day earlier.US Treasury yields traded mixed. After hitting a 52-week high, the 10-year yield was down two basis points to 4.96%.Communication services, healthcare and consumer staples sectors topped gainers after midday. Industrials, technology and utilities led decliners.Dario Amodei, chief executive of AI chatbot Claude maker Anthropic, called on the industry Saturday to slow the pace of developing AI model capabilities. His three-step plan to ensure that safety measures keep pace with advances in AI model capabilities includes placing independent evaluators inside leading AI companies with "employee-like access."OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX (SPCX) CEO Elon Musk supported Amodei's call in posts on X.In company news, Corning (GLW) said Friday it entered into an equity distribution agreement to sell its common stock from time to time, with an aggregate offering price of up to $2 billion. Shares of Corning sank 13%, the worst performer on the S&P 500.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$GLW$SPCX$TSLA
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds Mixed as US Equities Fall After Midday

Broad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV were mixed, with the latter in the red. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 0.5%.US equity indexes fell after the 10-year benchmark government bond yield touched a 52-week high of 5.01% and crude oil prices extended gains amid the ongoing war in Iran.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) lost 0.6%, and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) fell 0.7%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) shed 1.2%, iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) declined 0.4% and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) rose 0.6%.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) dropped 4.7%, while iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) decreased 4.8%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) gained 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was 0.6% higher, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), declined 0.7%.CommoditiesCrude oil gained 0.9%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) was 0.8% higher. Natural gas increased 2.3%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) advanced 2.2%.Gold on Comex declined 0.5%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) fell 0.8%. Silver dropped 1.8%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) decreased 0.9%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) gained 1.5%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) was up 1.4%, and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) also rose 1.1%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was 0.2% higher. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) gained 0.8%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) advanced 1.5%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was 1.5% higher; iShares US Healthcare (IYH) and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) were up about 1.4% each, while iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was up 0.9%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was 1.5% lower. The Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) decreased 1.5%, and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) fell 0.9%.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) increased 2.1%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) rose 2%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) shed 1.6%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was up 1.4%.

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