Soft landing? The US economy has outpaced its European and Asian counterparts to represent the world’s best economic recovery from pandemic-era headwinds as the country averts recession and moves into a soft landing, the Washington Post reports. Fresh inflation data showed that the US hit its 2% target over the second half of 2023. Meanwhile, the country saw 3.1% growth over the past year.

What the US did right: The US government made hefty payouts in the wake of the pandemic, increasing spending in the form of loans to small businesses and unemployment benefits more than its European and Asian counterparts. The government allocated 25.5% of its GDP to soften the blow of the pandemic, compared to 15.3% in Germany and 9.6% in France.

Fiscal policy is key: The government’s fiscal policy could play a bigger role in shaping the outcome of future economic downturns, more so than the Fed’s monetary policy, said Claudia Sahm, a former Federal Reserves economist.

ADX

9,567

-0.6% (YTD: -0.1%)

DFM

4,163

-0.2% (YTD: +2.6%)

Nasdaq Dubai UAE20

3,847

-1.0% (YTD: +0.1%)

USD : AED CBUAE

Buy 3.67

Sell 3.67

EIBOR

5.1% o/n

5.1% 1 yr

TASI

12,264

+0.8% (YTD: +2.5%)

EGX30

28,625

+3.5% (YTD: +15.0%)

S&P 500

4,890

0.1% (YTD: +2.5%)

FTSE 100

7,635

+1.4% (YTD: -1.3%)

Euro Stoxx 50

4,635

+1.2% (YTD: +2.5%)

Brent crude

USD 78.91

+0.8%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.71

+5.5%

Gold

USD 2,036

0.0%

BTC

USD 41,889

-0.6% (YTD: -1.0%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The DFM fell 0.2% yesterday on turnover of AED 172.2 mn. The index is up 2.6% YTD.

In the green: Aramex (+2.0%), Shuaa Capital (+1.4%) and Tecom Group (+1.1%).

In the red: National International Holding Company (-9.9%), Al Salam Sudan (-5.6%) and Ekttitab Holding Company (-3.3%).

Over on the ADX, the index closed down 0.6% on turnover of AED 909.3 mn. The index is down 0.1 YTD. Meanwhile Nasdaq Dubai fell 1.0%.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Stocks on Wall Street snapped a six-day streak of gains at Friday’s close, but still finished the week in the green. European stocks, meanwhile, hit a two-year high as investors cheered strong earnings and found seams of optimism running through recently released economic data.

That pattern looks set to hold this morning: Major Asian benchmarks are largely in the green in early trading this morning. Futures suggest that stocks on Wall Street will dip at the opening bell later today, while major European benchmarks could open the day in the green.

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