FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

UAE Shares Down as Investors Weigh US-China Talks

By

Stock trading in the United Arab Emirates closed lower as investors closely monitored the meeting between the US and China, hoping for signs of de-escalation in the Iran war.

At the close of Thursday trading, the FTSE ADX General Index ended little changed at 0.006% in the red, while the DFM General Index lost 0.413%.

Dominating headlines all over the world are the bilateral talks between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Reuters reported, citing a White House readout, that both leaders agreed on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran not having a nuclear weapon.

"The market could be pinning too much hope on the US-China talks yielding some positive results on Iran. Some hope that China could exert pressure on Iran to reach a deal with the US, to end the war and lead to a resumption of energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz," ING said.

On the oil front, global supply dropped by an additional 1.8 million barrels per day in April, bringing the total losses since February to 12.8 million barrels per day, the International Energy Agency, or IEA, said in its monthly oil market report published on Wednesday.

"With Hormuz tanker traffic still restricted, cumulative supply losses from Gulf producers already exceed 1 billion barrels with more than 14 mb/d of oil now shut in, an unprecedented supply shock," IEA commented. "While demand may swing back to growth towards the end of the year if a deal to end the war is agreed that allows flows through the Strait of Hormuz to gradually resume from 3Q26, as is assumed in this Report, supply will likely be slower to recover. As a result, the oil market remains in deficit until the final quarter of the year."

Closer to home and on the corporate front, Aldar Properties (ADX:ALDAR) acquired a residential-for-rent community comprising 312 homes in Dubai for 1.1 billion Emirati dirhams. Shares of the real estate closed the session 1.14% lower.

Elsewhere, Dubai-listed investment companies Watania International Holding (DFM:WATANIA) and Ekttitab Holding (DFM:EKTTITAB) gained 0.65% and 0.23%, respectively, despite reporting higher attributable losses for the first quarter.

Related Articles

Asia Markets

US Equity Indexes Mixed as Communication Services, Tech Help Outweigh Impact of Hot Producer Prices

US equity indexes closed mixed on Wednesday, as communication services and technology led sectors amid the fastest annual pace of growth in producer prices in four years, signaling the strength of the so-called AI trade.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% to 49,693.20. The Nasdaq jumped 1.2% to 26,402.34, and the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to 7,444.25.In a broadly positive tape, communication services, technology, and consumer discretionary were among the top gainers. Utilities, financials, real estate, and industrials declined.Of the top 10 companies with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, implying a significant sway over indexes, seven were from technology and communication services, according to data compiled by Finviz. Nasdaq's leaders included Marvell Technology (MRVL), Arm (ARM), and Micron Technology (MU). In the S&P 500, ON Semiconductor (ON) and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) were among the biggest outperformers. Nvidia (NVDA) and Cisco (CSCO) were in the top five gainers on the Dow.In economic news, the Producer Price Index soared 1.4% month-over-month in April from a 0.7% gain in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The print beat the 0.5% increase expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. After excluding food and energy prices, core PPI surged 1.0% from 0.2%, above the 0.3% advance anticipated.Year-over-year, PPI soared 6.0% in April while core PPI catapulted 5.2%, both above their respective March rates and the strongest readings since December 2022.A hotter-than-expected PPI, coupled with Tuesday's larger-than-expected rise in the consumer price index, underscores not only the price impact already realized but the "additional inflationary pressures still coming down the pipeline," according to a Stifel note.With energy cost passthrough likely to keep year-over-year core personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, inflation closer to 3% than 2% all year, Goldman Sachs said in a note that lower monthly inflation prints after the oil shock fades and further labor market softening will likely be needed for Fed rate cuts this year."We now expect it to take a bit longer to meet that bar," the investment bank said while pushing back the final two rate cuts in its forecast to December 2026 and March 2027.US Treasury yields were mostly down, with the 10-year steady to slightly lower at 4.47%.The two-year slipped 1.5 basis points to 3.98%.Meanwhile, in its closely watched Oil Market Report, the International Energy Agency said the loss of Persian Gulf supply is depleting global inventories at a record pace. Inventories fell by 129 million barrels per day in March and by 117 million bpd in April, though rising output from producers outside of the Gulf is helping to ease the supply shock."With Hormuz tanker traffic still restricted, cumulative supply losses from Gulf producers already exceed 1 billion barrels with more than 14 mb/d of oil now shut in, an unprecedented supply shock," the agency said.Nevertheless, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 0.9% to $101.29, and Brent crude futures declined 1.8% to $105.81.In precious metals, gold futures rose 0.3% to $4,696.2, and silver futures jumped 3.1% to $88.27.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$ARM$CSCO$HPE$MRVL$MU$NVDA$ON
Asia Markets

US Equity Indexes Mixed Amid Hot Producer Prices, Tech Gains

US equity indexes traded mixed after midday Wednesday as a hot producer price inflation print failed to restrain technology bulls.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 49,596.1, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.2% to 26,409.3 and the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to 7,445.5. Utilities, financials, and real estate led the decliners. Communication services, consumer discretionary, and technology were among the top gainers.Of the top 10 companies with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, implying a significant sway over indexes, seven were from technology and communication services. In the S&P 500, ON Semiconductor (ON) was among the top outperformers. Nasdaq's leader was Marvell Technology (MRVL), and Nvidia (NVDA) was the second-biggest gainer on the Dow.Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang joined President Trump on his visit to Beijing, a last-minute addition that has raised expectations of progress in stalled talks over H200 AI chip sales to China, Reuters reported Wednesday.Cantor Fitzgerald adjusted its price target for ON Semiconductor to $100 from $95 while maintaining its neutral rating.In economic news, the US Producer Price Index jumped 1.4% in April from a 0.7% gain in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, beating the 0.5% increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. After excluding food and energy prices, core PPI surged 1.0% from 0.2%, above the 0.3% advance anticipated.Year-over-year, PPI soared 6.0% in April while core PPI catapulted 5.2%, both above their respective March rates and the strongest readings since December 2022.A hotter-than-expected PPI, coupled with Tuesday's larger-than-expected rise in the consumer price index, underscores not only the price impact already realized, but the additional inflationary pressures still coming down the pipeline, according to a Stifel note."As the administration continues to work for a resolution to the conflict, even with a nearer-term reopening of the Strait of Hormuz or a restoration of global oil supply and flows, given the lag time between oil and gas prices, the brunt of the price pressure may still be felt in the coming months," Lindsey Piegza, Stifel's chief economist, said in the note.Meanwhile, in its closely watched Oil Market Report, the International Energy Agency said the loss of Persian Gulf supply is depleting global inventories at a record pace. Inventories fell by 129 million barrels per day in March and by 117 million bpd in April, though rising output from producers outside of the Gulf is helping to ease the supply shock."With Hormuz tanker traffic still restricted, cumulative supply losses from Gulf producers already exceed 1 billion barrels with more than 14 mb/d of oil now shut in, an unprecedented supply shock," the agency said.West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures slipped 0.3% to $101.90, and Brent crude futures declined 1.5% to $106.19.US Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year up one basis point to 4.48%. The two-year rate was steady at 3.99%.In precious metals, gold futures rose 0.5% to $4,711.1, and silver futures jumped 5% to $89.84.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$MRVL$NVDA$ON
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds, US Equities Mixed After Midday

Broad Market IndicatorsBroad-market exchange-traded fund IWM edged lower and IVV rose. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) added 0.9%.US equity indexes traded mixed in midday trading on Wednesday amid a hot producer price inflation print.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) each lost about 0.5%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) rose 0.9%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) gained 1.4%, and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.9%.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) climbed 3.3%, and iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) was up 2.4%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) fell 1.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) declined 3%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), advanced 3.1%.CommoditiesCrude oil fell 0.5%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) lost 1.1%. Natural gas rose 0.3%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) added 1%.Gold on Comex was up 0.5% and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) slipped 0.3%. Silver climbed 5%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) added 2.6%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) dipped 0.2%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) shed 0.2%, and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) fell 0.2%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) gained 0.6%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) fell 0.1%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) was down 1.4%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) added 0.3%, iShares US Healthcare (IYH) rose 0.2%, and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) gained 0.3%. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was down 0.3%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) fell 0.4%. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) were also lower.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) dropped 1.9%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) shed 2.2%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) was down 1.6%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was 1.5% lower.

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