Tadawul Equities End Lower Amid US Fed Rate Jitters
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.
