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Emirati Equities Extend Losses Ahead of PMI Data

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Stocks in the United Arab Emirates fell for the third consecutive trading day on Wednesday, as the FTSE ADX General Index declined 0.682%, and the DFM General Index lost 0.331%.

Markets await the release of the highly anticipated UAE S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index data for August on Thursday to get insights into the country's non-oil private sector performance. The PMI rose to 52.7 in July from 50.8 in June.

On the geopolitical front, the US Central Command said it attacked Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defense sites, radar systems, and communications sites in response to Iran's attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran responded by targeting US bases in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait, despite US President Donald Trump's warning that the country would be hit at a "much harder and higher level" if it retaliated.

"Brent pushed back above $95/bbl, reaching its highest level in more than a month, as Persian Gulf tensions escalated further," ING analysts said. "Developments in recent days brought risks to regional oil supplies back into focus. We've seen oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz despite the stalemate between the US and Iran, but rising tensions clearly put crossings at risk."

Closer to home, the UAE Central Bank concluded its participation in the Fourth G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting and the Second G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in the US as part of its efforts to enhance the stability of the international financial system.

Over to corporates, First Abu Dhabi Bank (ADX:FAB) completed live US dollar transactions with Citi using tokenized deposits and Swift smart contract settlements to enable 24/7 cross-border payments. FAB said it is the first bank in the Middle East and Africa to complete transactions at scale under Swift's Ledger Minimum Viable Product. Shares of the Emirati lender closed the session 0.93% lower.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DFM:DIB) closed its debut three-year senior unsecured commodity murabaha term facility of $750 million to diversify its funding base. The Dubai-listed lender's stock was 0.27% in the green at closing.

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Update: US Equity Indexes Drop as Treasury Yields, Crude Oil Surge Following Fresh Military Strikes on Iran

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes fell amid soaring crude oil prices and the markets witnessed a surge in the benchmark government bond yield to the highest in about 18 months, as Iran vowed to inflict severe damage following Washington's strikes on targets on the Islamic Republic on Tuesday afternoon.The Nasdaq Composite fell 1% to 26,099.77, the S&P 500 retreated 0.7% to 7,631.47, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.8% to 52,766.88 ahead of the market close. Consumer discretionary, industrials, materials and technology led decliners, while energy topped gainers.US forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran, the US Central Command said in a message on X, formerly Twitter. The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region. These new hostilities come as the duo traded attacks overnight and into Monday, the first exchange after more than a month.Iranian media reported explosions in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Konarak, Chabahar, Jask, Sirik and Lavan, Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported. Iran's army and the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps promised the US would regret and face "severe punishment" for the aggression, the news report said.Meanwhile, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said the Iran blockade is "very powerful" and "we are going to economically asphyxiate this regime," Al Jazeera reported. The US will announce new sanctions on "anyone that does business with the IRGC" while the US is "tracking down the IRGC's assets," Bessent was cited as saying.If the US "will is that we do not export oil [then] no one will be able to export oil," Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a video message shared by Iranian news agencies, according to Al Jazeera.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract surged 5.9% to $90.83 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent soared 5.3% to $95.32 per barrel.Most US Treasury yields rose. The 10-year yield jumped 3.8 basis points to 4.8%, the highest since January 2025, and the two-year advanced five basis points to 4.4%.Gold futures dropped 2.4% to $4,372.7, and silver futures slumped 3.5% to $64.62.In economic news, US job openings rose to 7.271 million in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, below the 7.313 million openings expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, but up from the 7.182 million openings reported in June. The July level represents 4.4% of total employment, up from 4.3% in June and 4.3% a year earlier.The Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index fell to 54.6 in August from 55.6 in July, compared with expectations for 55.2 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The index indicates expansion, in line with most regional manufacturing sector readings and the S&P Global index, but contrasts with the Chicago PMI reading that suggested contraction.The first look at consumer confidence for September improved from August, with the RealClearMarkets' monthly index rising to 45.6 from 45.1. The index reading was the highest since March.The probability of the Federal Reserve raising its target rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4.0% in September surged to 68% late Tuesday from 40% a day ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The likelihood of another increase of the same magnitude in October is more than a fifth, putting into perspective a 9% chance of the rates remaining at the current level by December.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500
Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Drop as Treasury Yields, Crude Oil Jump Amid Fresh Military Strikes on Iran

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes fell amid rising crude oil prices and a surge in the benchmark government bond yield to the highest in about 18 months as Washington struck Iranian targets on Tuesday.The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9% to 26,122.9, the S&P 500 retreated 0.7% to 7,633.1, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.8% to 52,747.8 after midday.Consumer discretionary, industrials, materials and technology led decliners, while energy topped gainers.US forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran, the US Central Command said in a message on X, formerly Twitter. The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region.US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said the Iran blockade is "very powerful" and "we are going to economically asphyxiate this regime," Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported. The US will announce new sanctions on "anyone that does business with the IRGC" while the US is "tracking down the IRGC's assets," Bessent was cited as saying.In a video message shared by Iranian news agencies, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the US's naval blockade against Iran amounts to a military act and that Tehran will respond militarily if it intensifies, according to Al Jazeera. If the US's "will is that we do not export oil" from the Gulf, Ghalibaf said, "no one will be able to export oil."Two oil supertankers attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz were struck by projectiles late Monday, Bloomberg reported, citing maritime security consultant Marisks.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract advanced 4.3% to $89.52 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent climbed 3.9% to $94.04 per barrel.Most US Treasury yields rose. The 10-year yield rose three basis points to 4.79%, the highest level since January 2025, and the two-year advanced 3.5 basis points to 4.39%.Gold futures dropped 1.9% to $4,397.30, and silver futures slumped 2.4% to $65.38.In economic news, US job openings rose to 7.271 million in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, below the 7.313 million openings expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, but up from the 7.182 million openings reported in June. The July level represents 4.4% of total employment, up from 4.3% in June and 4.3% a year earlier.The Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index fell to 54.6 in August from 55.6 in July, compared with expectations for 55.2 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The index indicates expansion, in line with most regional manufacturing sector readings and the S&P Global index, but contrasts with the Chicago PMI reading that suggested contraction.The first look at consumer confidence for September improved from August, with the RealClearMarkets' monthly index rising to 45.6 from 45.1. The index reading was the highest since March.The probability of the Federal Reserve raising its target rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4.0% in September surged to 66% after midday Tuesday from 40% a day ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The likelihood of another increase of the same magnitude in October is almost a fifth, putting into perspective a 10% chance of the rates remaining at the current level by December.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds Decline as US Equities Fall After Midday

Broad Market IndicatorsBroad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV were lower. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) eased 1.1%.US equity indexes declined amid rising crude oil prices and a surge in the benchmark government bond yield to the highest in about 18 months as Iran's geopolitics deteriorated.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) each added about 0.7%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) edged down 1.5%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) were softer.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) slipped 2.7%, while iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) fell 2%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) dipped 0.8%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) declined 2.4%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), advanced 2.5%.CommoditiesCrude oil rose 4.2%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) added 4.1%. Natural gas lost 1.1%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was down 1.2%.Gold on Comex slipped 1.8%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was down 2.2%. Silver fell 2.1%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) shed 2.2%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) added 0.5%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) gained 0.5%, and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) was up 0.6%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) eased 1.6%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was down 0.3%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) dipped 0.3%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) rose 0.4%. iShares US Healthcare (IYH) and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) were also higher. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) added 0.3%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) fell 1.6%. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) were also in the red.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) dropped 1.7%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) lost 1.7%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) was down 2%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) gained 1.9%.

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