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.

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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-

The ADX fell 0.3% yesterday on turnover of AED 1.1 bn. The index is up 5.4% YTD.

In the green: Fujairah Cement Industries (+8.9%), Emsteel Building Materials (+5.9%) and Alpha Data (+4.1%).

In the red: Union Ins. Company (-9.9%), Abu Dhabi National Takaful Co. (-9.9%), and National Bank of Fujairah (-7.6%).

Over on the DFM, the index fell 0.2% on turnover of AED 730.2 mn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was down 0.4%.

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

Amlak Finance moves to offset losses, exits real estate portfolio: Amlak Finance will transfer AED 307.4 mn from its statutory reserve and AED 99.3 mn from its special reserve to partially cover its accumulated losses as of 31 December 2024, according to a bourse disclosure (pdf). The move requires approval from relevant authorities.

The company also approved a plan to exit its real estate finance portfolio. The strategy includes selling financing contracts to other institutions and negotiating mutual exits with customers. Amlak’s board authorized waivers to facilitate the transactions.

We knew this was happening: Amlak sold its lands in Dubai’s Ras Al Khor to Emaar Developments last month. The transaction was valued at AED 2.9 bn and is expected to close by 31 July 2025. The move comes as part of a wider repayment agreement as the firm looks to shore up its finances and meet a commitment to settle its outstanding debts of AED 1.4 bn by October 2026. As of last December, it had reduced its liabilities by AED 800 mn and floated the idea of exiting the real estate financing sector to strengthen its balance sheet.