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Tadawul Equities End Lower Amid US Fed Rate Jitters

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The Tadawul All Share Index closed Wednesday lower at 0.28% in the red ahead of the latest and highly anticipated monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve.

Aside from the expected rate hold, market watchers will also be on the lookout for the policies and economic views of the newest Fed chair, Kevin Warsh.

"No change in the policy rate (3.50% to 3.75% range) is expected, but the press conference could offer interesting sound bites for markets to potentially rethink the future policy stance. Whilst the statement should turn more hawkish, Warsh may want to communicate his more dovish view, though probably not explicitly. He could, for example, reiterate his conviction about AI-related productivity growth, which would justify lower policy rates further in the future. Overall, such comments are likely to stay at a high level as he's also not a fan of forward guidance," ING said.

In other news, investors are also tuning into the new updates on the G7 summit as it heads into its last day. The third day will focus on coming up with a plan for the critical minerals supply chain in the West.

Back at home, Waja Co. (SASE:9560) shares declined 1.40% at closing as it entered into a nonbinding memorandum of understanding to buy a 5% equity stake in construction group Owtad Al Fahad Co.

Meanwhile, Bank AlJazira (SASE:1020) launched an offering of US dollar-denominated additional tier 1 capital certificates. The perpetual certificates offer will be available to eligible Saudi Arabian and international investors. Shares of the lender closed 0.59% in the red.

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Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Technology Sector Retreats

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and political/company news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes traded mixed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new peak intraday amid sliding crude oil prices, while technology sank to the bottom of sector charts.The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6% to 26,537.1, with the S&P 500 down 0.3% to 7,534.2, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% to 52,163.4 after midday Tuesday.All sectors except technology, energy, and communication services rose, with financials and industrials leading the gainers.Dow hit a fresh intraday record, taking out the all-time high scaled on Monday, as crude oil extended declines to the lowest level in more than three months following Sunday's announcement of an interim deal between the US and Iran to end the war in the Middle East.President Donald Trump vowed to publicly release the text of the memorandum of understanding Iran has signed with the US "in a couple of days," CNN reported Tuesday.Iran warned that any Israeli attack on Lebanon or continued occupation of its territory from now on will constitute a violation of the interim agreement with the US, Al Jazeera reported. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear he does not intend to withdraw from southern Lebanon, Gaza, or Syria, according to the CNN news report.Front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 4.6% to $78.61 per barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate dived 5.1% to $75.66 per barrel after midday.In company news, Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) has agreed to acquire Anysphere, which operates Cursor, an artificial intelligence-based coding agent, in a deal worth about $60 billion. Shares of SpaceX jumped 11% intraday, boosting the company's market cap above Amazon's (AMZN).Meanwhile, Yum! Brands (YUM) said it has signed agreements to sell Pizza Hut for a combined $2.7 billion through two separate transactions.In economic news, US import prices jumped 1.9% in May, ahead of the 1% increase expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey and following a 2.0% gain in April. Excluding a 13% surge in petroleum prices, import prices were up 0.8% from 0.5%, beating the 0.5% forecast. Export prices climbed 1.3% in May, above expectations for 0.9% and following a 3.5% jump in April.The New York Federal Reserve's services index worsened to minus 10.1 in June from minus 5.8 in May. The index is the first services reading for June and suggests more widespread contraction.Redbook US same-store sales soared 9.4% from a year earlier in the week ended June 13, after surging 9.1% in the previous week. Seasonal categories such as air conditioners, fans, pool and beach equipment, swimwear, and other hot-weather apparel led the growth, according to Redbook.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AMZN$SPCX$YUM
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds Fall, US Equities Mixed After Midday

Broad Market IndicatorsBroad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV were lower Tuesday. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was down 1.4%.US equity indexes traded mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching a new peak intraday amid sliding crude oil prices, while technology sank to the bottom of sector charts.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) each fell 0.5%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) dropped 1.8% and iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) declined 1.5%, while iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was down 1.7%.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) and iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) each fell 3.5%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) added 1.5%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) added 4.4%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), lost 4.4%.CommoditiesCrude oil shed 6.4%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) fell 6.1%. Natural gas added 3%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 2.6% higher.Gold on Comex gained 0.3%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) also rose 0.4%. Silver advanced 0.1%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was down 0.1%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was up 0.2%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) were up 0.3% each.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) rose 0.1%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was 0.3% higher, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) dropped 0.1%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) gained 0.2%, iShares US Healthcare (IYH) rose 0.2%, and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) moved up 0.2%. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) dropped 0.2%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) added 1.2%. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) gained 1.1%, while iShares US Industrials (IYJ) rose 1.3%.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) was down 1.6%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) shed 1.2%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) fell 2.6%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was 2.2% lower.

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Asia Markets

Swiss Stocks End Higher; PolyPeptide Group Shares Jump

Swiss stocks were in positive territory on Tuesday's close, with the Swiss Market Index up 0.32%, amid a quiet day of local economic news.In the eurozone, the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment improved to 9.5 points in June from -9.1 points in May, fueled by hopes that the Middle East conflict is nearing an end. The economic sentiment indicator for Germany, the eurozone's largest economy, also turned positive, rising by 20.7 points to 10.5 points in June.On the geopolitical front, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the G7 Summit in Evian, France, discussing the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East. Swiss President Guy Parmelin is also set to meet Starmer this evening to discuss negotiations on a bilateral free trade deal.Back home and in corporate news, Siegfried Holding (SFZN.SW) further expanded its large-scale drug substances offering with the launch of its new drug substances manufacturing facility in Minden, Germany. The Swiss contract development and manufacturing organization's stock shed 7.60% at closing.Berenberg raised its price target for PolyPeptide Group (PPGN.SW) to 38 francs from 35 francs, with an unchanged buy recommendation on the stock, expressing optimism over the group's ability to achieve its revenue growth guidance for 2026. PolyPeptide's shares closed the session 5.65% higher."In the absence of any material newsflow, we take increasing confidence that operations at the newly expanded Braine-l'Alleud facility in Belgium are running as planned. The revenue contribution from this asset should provide sufficient support for the company to achieve the upper end of its 2026 revenue guidance, in our view," the research firm said. "In addition, PolyPeptide is expanding its site in Strasbourg, France, to support a large non-GLP-1 contract. We expect the ramp-up to begin in the second half of 2026, subject to approval from the regulatory authorities, with this reaching target utilisation as of 2027. We forecast this asset to contribute EUR50m of revenue from 2027E onwards."

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