The US has gone on the offensive in the trade war with China, with the White House yesterday announcing a raft of tariff increases on USD 18 bn worth of Chinese imports that will each begin taking effect between 2024 and 2026.

Biden has his eyes set on green tech, deciding thattariffs on Chinese EVs will quadruple to 100%, those on lithium-ion EV batteries to more than triple to 25%, those on solar cells to double to 50%. And he hasn’t forgotten about semiconductors, as tariffs on chips from the world’s second biggest economy are set to double to 50%.

Biden’s tough talk seems to be directed to US voters as much as it does to China, warning the world’s factory yesterday that “when you make tactics like this, you’re not competing, it’s not competition, it’s cheating. And we’ve seen damage here in America” (watch, runtime: 22:30). The US is a minor market for Chinese EVs today.

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ALSO- BlackRock is making its presence felt in the crypto space after building up USD16.7 bn in assets since the launch of its crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) in January 2024. Despite initial reluctance to move into crypto — which CEO Larry Fink called “an index of money laundering” in 2017 — BlackRock is now the second-largest BTC fund after market leader Grayscale. The asset manager has also rolled out a crypto treasury fund that is already being used by hedge funds and money markets to source collateral for crypto trades.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

It’s a mixed morning in Asia: The Shanghai Composite is down, the Nikkei is up, and markets in both Hong Kong and South Korea are closed in observance of Buddha’s birthday. Futures suggest European and US markets will open in the green later today as traders wait for a key US consumer price report later today.

TASI

12,120

-1.1% (YTD: +1.3%)

MSCI Tadawul 30

1,519

-1.1% (YTD: -2%)

NomuC

26,659

-0.8% (YTD: +8.7%)

USD : SAR (SAMA)

USD 3.75 Sell

USD 3.75 Buy

Interest rates

6.5% repo

5.5% reverse repo

EGX30

25,339

-0.2% (YTD: +1.8%)

ADX

9,058

-0,4% (YTD: –5.4%)

DFM

4,136

-0.9% (YTD: +1.9%)

S&P 500

5,247

+0.5% (YTD: +10.0%)

FTSE 100

8,428

+0.2% (YTD: +9.0%)

Euro Stoxx 50

5,080

0.0% (YTD: +12.4%)

Brent crude

USD 82.38

-1.2%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.34

-0.2%

Gold

USD 2,363

+0.1%

BTC

USD 61,595

-2.1% (YTD: +45.9%)

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI fell 1.1% yesterday on turnover of SAR 7.3 bn. The index is up 1.3% YTD.

In the green: Al Jouf (+7.6%), BCI (+7.4%) and Al Babtain (+3.9%).

In the red: Saptco (-9.9%), 2P (-9.9%) and Medgulf (-9.9%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC fell -0.8% yesterday on turnover of SAR 30.3 mn. The index is up 8.7% YTD.

In the green: Al Qemam (+4..7%), Mayar (+4.6%) and Nofoth (+4.5%).

In the red: Tam Development (-10%), AZM (-7.1%) and Rawasi (-6.9%)

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

The Capital Market Authority has cleared Saudi Ceramic to raise its capital by 25% toSAR 1 bn, it said in a statement yesterday. The capital increase will see the transfer of SAR 200 mn from the company’s retained earnings to the company’s capital. This will bring Saudi Ceramic’s total shares up to 100 mn.

The authority also gave Riyadh Steel the green light to increase its capital by 40% to SAR 70 mn, it said in a statement yesterday. The capital increase will be executed through the transfer of SAR 20 mn from the company’s retained earnings to its capital. This will bring the steel maker’s total shares up to 7 mn shares.

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