Wall Street is getting a record rally: The S&P 500 hit another record high at the close of trading yesterday, marking the 37th record high since the beginning of the year and the sixth consecutive record close for the index. Yesterday’s record performance was buoyed by chip stocks, which were “outperformers” in the trading day, as Taiwan Semiconductor rallied after it released earnings that were better than expected. Nvidia closed up nearly 3%, while Apple shares also jumped on news that it plans to ramp up its iPhone shipments.

What’s driving the rally? Investors are looking more confident that the US Federal Reserve will move to cut interest rates in the next few months, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell testified to Congress on Tuesday that he has “some confidence” that inflation will cool to 2%. Powell also told Congress that the Fed doesn’t necessarily need to wait for inflation to fall to 2% before moving on interest rate cuts, which signaled to investors that a September rate cut could be in the cards.

Wall Street will be watching for inflation figures being released later this evening and tomorrow for more signs on where the Fed is heading. The US will release CPI data today, while producer price index figures are expected to be released tomorrow. (Financial Times | CNBC | Reuters)

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are in the green this morning, driven by the US tech rally and hopes for a Fed rate cut. The Nikkei is up 0.97%, while the broad based Topix is up 0.7%, both notching fresh highs. Meanwhile, Wall Street futures are little changed, while European markets are heading for a strong open.

ADX

9,138

0.0% (YTD: -4.6%)

DFM

4,080

+0.1% (YTD: +0.5%)

Nasdaq Dubai UAE20

3,511

+0.2% (YTD: -8.6%)

USD : AED CBUAE

Buy 3.67

Sell 3.67

EIBOR

4.9% o/n

5.2% 1 yr

TASI

11,784

0.0% (YTD: -1.5%)

EGX30

28,287

-0.6% (YTD: +13.6%)

S&P 500

5,634

+1.0% (YTD: +18.1%)

FTSE 100

8,194

+0.7% (YTD: +6.0%)

Euro Stoxx 50

4,959

+1.1% (YTD: +9.7%)

Brent crude

USD 85.35

+0.8%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.33

-0.6%

Gold

USD 2,379.70

+0.5%

BTC

58,261.35

0.9% (YTD: +31.9%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The ADX stayed flat yesterday on turnover of AED 1.5 bn. The index is down 4.6% YTD.

In the green: Bank of Sharjah (+4.6%), Manazel (+4.4%) and Adnoc Logistics and Services (+4.1%).

In the red: Rak Co. for White Cement and Construction Materials (-6.1%), Sharjah Cement and Industrial Development (-4.7%) and EasyLease Motorcycle Rental (-4.6%).

Over on the DFM, the index rose 0.1% on turnover of AED 260.7 mn. Meanwhile Nasdaq Dubai closed up 0.2%.

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