Rising US job openings + Senate passing “big beautiful bill” help buoy USD

Higher-than-expected job openings in the US and the Senate passing President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” overnight helped the USD trim its losses against other major currencies like the JPY and CHF, Reuters reports. The USD’s losses against the JPY narrowed by 0.17 percentage points and by 0.12 percentage points against the CHF compared to before the jobs data was released.

That being said, the USD is still down: The USD had fallen earlier in the day by 0.6% against the CHF to a 10-year low of CHF 0.79, and 0.8% against the JPY to 142.9. Meanwhile, the EUR climbed to a near four-year high at USD 1.2, while GBP inched up by 0.2% to USD 1.4. As a result, the USD index — one that measures the greenback against six peers — slipped by over 10% this year to its lowest since February 2022, marking its worst 1H performance in over half a century. The USD index is now at 96.68.

Labor market data may be somewhat positive, but it’s not enough yet to stimulate positive sentiment: The US labor market showed job openings rising to 7.769 mn at the end of May — coming in higher than economist forecasts and showing “1.07 jobs for every unemployed person,” Reuters reports. Despite the increase in available jobs, hiring declined by the end of the month to 3.4%, particularly in healthcare and social assistance, manufacturing, and professional and business services. The hiring slowdown comes in part due to “lack of clarity” on the outlook for businesses once Trump’s 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs sunsets, which economists say has “left businesses unable to make long-term plans.”

Investors are watching and waiting: US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled yesterday that a move to cut interest rates at the end of this month would depend on more economic data. Speaking at the European Central Bank Forum in Portugal yesterday, Powell confirmed that the central bank would have pushed ahead with further rate cuts this year, but put its easing cycle on hold because “the size of the tariffs and essentially all inflation forecasts for the United States went up materially as a consequence of the tariffs,” according to CNBC. Powell’s comments come amid growing fears over the Fed’s credibility as Trump continues his campaign for drastically lower interest rates. They will also have their eyes on Thursday’s nonfarm payrolls report, which measures the health of the US labor market.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

It’s another mixed morning for Asian markets this morning, although most are leaning towards the red on the back of Jerome Powell saying that the US Fed could have already pushed through with interest rate cuts this year had it not been for President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs. Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi are each down more than 1% in early trading, while the Hang Seng Index is trading up. Futures suggest that Wall Street will open in the green later today.

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI fell 0.4% yesterday on turnover of SAR 5.6 bn. The index is down 7.6% YTD.

In the green: Petro Rabigh (+10.0%), Cenomi Retail (+8.0%) and SPPC (+7.4%).

In the red: Alandalus (-2.8%), Taprco (-2.8%) and Walaa (-2.7%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC fell 0.4% yesterday on turnover of SAR 16.1 mn. The index is down 13.4% YTD.

In the green: Munawla (+11.1%), Enma Alrawabi (+9.7%) and FAD (+9.4%).

In the red: Meyar (-15.4%), Alhasoob (-11.0%) and Mayar (-8.3%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

Acwa Power’s shareholders approved the board’s recommendation to increase the firm’s capital by 4.6% to SAR 7.7 bn via a rights issue, at SAR 210 per share, it said in a disclosure (pdf) to Tadawul yesterday. The move — which will see the company’s shares increase by 33.9 mn to around 766 mn shares — aims to triple the company’s assets under management by 2030 and strengthen its financial position.

BupaArabia will distribute SAR 600 mn in dividends for FY 2024 at SAR 4.0 per share starting on Thursday, 17 July, it said in a press release (pdf).

Alinma Capital will distribute SAR 32.6 mn in dividends for 1H 2025 to Hospitality REIT Fund unitholders, it said in a Tadawul disclosure. The company will also disburse another SAR 21.2 mn in dividends for 1H 2025 to Retail REIT Fund unitholders, it said in a separate disclosure.

GGI scraps capital reduction plan: Gulf General Cooperative Ins. (GGI) withdrew its earlier board recommendation to reduce the company’s capital by 54% to SAR 137.9 mn and cancel over 16.2 mn shares while writing off SAR 162.1 mn in accumulated losses, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The board is still looking at alternative options to improve capital efficiency.

Tabuk Cement’s shareholders greenlit the company’sdividend distribution policy for 2024-2026, authorizing the board to issue interim dividends semi-annually or quarterly in 2025, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul yesterday. The company will pay at least SAR 0.25 per share every six months during the period, Argaam reports.