Emirati Stocks Fall Amid Renewed Middle East Tensions
Stocks in the United Arab Emirates closed lower as renewed exchange of strikes between the US and Iran drove investors into a risk-off mode.At the close of Wednesday trading, the FTSE ADX General Index declined 0.564%, while the DFM General Index fell 1.511%.The US Central Command carried out new strikes on more than 80 Iranian defense systems, command and control networks, and anti-ship missile sites, as well as over 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats, in response to Iran's attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. It also revoked a license permitting the sale of Iranian oil.Meanwhile, Iran retaliated by targeting US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, clouding prospects of a long-term deal between the two countries. Also damping sentiment were US President Donald Trump's comments that the interim agreement with Iran is "over."On the economic front, markets will keep an eye out for the release of the highly anticipated minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's June meeting later in the day to get cues on the US Fed's next interest rate move."Today's minutes will clarify how serious members are about the possibility of rate hikes. Based on post-meeting communication, we see limited risk of a dovish surprise in the minutes. We expect a cementing of the hawkish message to firm up dollar momentum, although we don't expect it to lead to a break higher as markets may be reluctant to reprice rate expectations aggressively higher (now 35bp by December) after the soft jobs report," ING analysts commented.Back home, Dubai Chambers initiated its Business in Dubai platform to offer corporate services across financial, marketing, technology, and testing and certification sectors to companies aiming to scale their growth in Dubai.Over to corporates, Presight AI (ADX:PRESIGHT) signed a term sheet with Kazakhstan's Ministry of Transport to assess the development of a national operational intelligence platform for real-time monitoring and management of Kazakhstan's transport system. Presight AI closed the session 0.87% higher.Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co. (DFM:DU) d/b/a du, unit du Pay partnered with Gcash to provide faster and affordable cross-border remittance services to Filipino workers in the UAE. The Dubai-listed telecommunications company's stocks ended 4.23% in the red.
