BENGALURU: US stock index futures rose on Friday, setting the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq for a fourth straight week of gains on easing bets of another super-sized interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 is up 15 percent from mid-June, with the latest boost coming from a slower-than-expected rise in consumer prices and a surprise drop in producer prices in July.
The benchmark index is within sight of a 50 percent retracement of its bear market loss and investors are watching the 4,231 level. The index last closed at 4,207.27.
While policymakers remain firm about a further tightening in monetary policy until inflation pressures fully abate, traders see a 63.5 percent chance of the Fed raising rates by 50 basis points next month instead of a 75 basis points hike.
The Fed has raised its policy rate by 225 basis points since March as it battles to cool demand without sparking a sharp rise in layoffs.
High-growth and technology stocks such as Tesla and Nvidia rose 1 percent each in trading before the bell as investors flocked back to riskier assets.
Growth stocks have underpeformed their value counterparts so far this year on worries that rising Treasury yields due to aggressive rate hikes will pressure their valuation.
Investors bought $7.1 billion in equities in the week to Wednesday, according to a Bank of America note, with US growth stocks recording their largest weekly inflow since December last year.
Meanwhile, banks looked set to extend their rally for sixth straight week, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs gaining 0.4 percent each in premarket trading.
At 07:28 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 106 points, or 0.32 percent, S&P 500 e-minis were up 13.75 points, or 0.33 percent, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 42 points, or 0.32 percent.
Rivian Automotive Inc. slipped 0.2 percent even as the electric-vehicle maker reported better-than-expected second quarter revenue.
The University of Michigan’s preliminary survey of consumer sentiment for August is expected at 10:00 am ET.
SHANGHAI: Five Chinese state-owned companies, including oil giant Sinopec and China Life Insurance, said on Friday they would delist from the New York Stock Exchange, amid economic and diplomatic tensions with the US, according to Reuters.
The companies, which also include Aluminium Corporation of China, PetroChina and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co, each said that they would apply to delist their American Depository Shares this month.
The five, which in May were flagged by the US securities regulator as failing to meet its auditing standards, will keep their listings in Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets.
Beijing and Washington are in talks to resolve a long-running audit dispute that could see Chinese companies banned from US exchanges if they do not comply with US rules.
Washington has long demanded complete access to the books of US-listed Chinese companies, but Beijing bars foreign inspection of audit documents from local accounting firms, citing national security concerns.
There was no mention of the auditing dispute in separate statements by the Chinese companies outlining their moves, which come amid heightened tensions after last week’s visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“These companies have strictly complied with the rules and regulatory requirements of the US capital market since their listing in the US and made the delisting choice for their own business considerations,” the China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a statement.
The agency added that it would keep “communication open with relevant overseas regulatory agencies.”
The oversight row, which has been simmering for more than a decade, came to a head in December when the Securities and Exchange Commission finalized rules to potentially prohibit trading in Chinese companies under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. It said 273 companies were at risk.
Some of China’s largest companies including Alibaba Group Holdings, J.D Com Inc. and Baidu Inc. are among them. Alibaba said last week it would convert its Hong Kong secondary listing into a dual primary listing which analysts said could ease the way for the Chinese ecommerce giant to switch primary listing venues in the future.
In premarket trading Friday, US-listed shares of China Life Insurance and oil giant Sinopec fell 5.7 percent about 4.3 percent respectively. Aluminium Corporation of China dropped 1.7 percent, while PetroChina shed 4.3 percent. Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co. shed 4.1 percent.
A spokesperson for NYSE declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the audit watchdog overseen by the SEC, did not immediately provide comment. Losing Patience?
Market-watchers were split over what the delistings might mean for the audit deal, with some saying it was a bad sign.
“China is sending a message that its patience is wearing thin in the audit talks,” said Kai Zhan, senior counsel at Chinese law firm Yuanda, who specializes in US capital markets.
The companies said their US traded share volume was small compared with those on their other major listing venues.
PetroChina said it had never raised follow-on capital from its USlisting and its Hong Kong and Shanghai bases “can satisfy the company’s fundraising requirements” as well as providing “better protection of the interests of the investors.”
Global fund managers holding US-listed Chinese stocks are steadily shifting toward their Hong Kong-traded peers, even as they remain hopeful the audit dispute will eventually be resolved, Reuters reported this week.
“These companies are very thinly traded with very small US market cap so it is not a loss for US capital markets,” Brendan Ahern, CIO of Krane Funds Advisers, which has a New York-listed fund focused on Chinese tech plays, wrote in an email.
He and analysts said the delistings could pave the way for China to comply with the US requirements, since the five companies concerned likely have sensitive information China would not want exposed in an audit review.
“We see this as a positive sign. This is consistent with our view China will decide what companies would be allowed to be US-listed and thus subject to SEC’s audit investigations,” Jefferies analysts wrote in a note.
China Life and Chalco said they would file for delisting on Aug. 22, with it taking effect 10 days later. Sinopec, whose full name is China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, and PetroChina said their applications would be made on Aug. 29.
China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom were delisted from the US in 2021 after a Trump-era decision to restrict investment in Chinese technology firms.
That ruling has been left unchanged by the Biden administration amid continuing tensions.
LONDON: Gold prices inched lower on Friday but were still on track for a weekly rise, as an overall weakness in the dollar offset pressure from an uptick in bond yields and expectations of further rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve.
Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,786.06 per ounce, as of 1200 GMT.
Bullion was still headed for its fourth straight weekly gain, up nearly 1 percent in its longest weekly rally in almost a year.
US gold futures fell 0.3 percent to $1,801.10.
The dollar edged 0.4 percent higher on the day, but was down about 1 percent for the week.
A weaker greenback makes bullion less expensive for overseas buyers.
“Inflation easing a little has aided gold’s rally to $1,800. But risk assets were quickly preferred and gold’s rally stalled. If risk appetite fades over the next couple of weeks, that could support a move above $1,800,” OANDA analyst Craig Erlam said.
Market participants have toned down expectations of an aggressive rate hike by the Fed after cooler-than-expected inflation data released earlier this week.
However, recent comments by some Fed officials continue to highlight a hawkish tilt. Gold’s appeal tends to dim amid high-interest rate environment, as the metal yields no interest.
Fed’s Mary Daly said on Thursday that while a half-percentage-point interest rate hike in September “makes sense,” she is open to the possibility of a bigger hike.
“The ongoing tightening of monetary policy is still having a braking effect on gold... Market participants remain correspondingly cautious and have been withdrawing funds from the gold ETFs of late,” Commerzbank said in a note.
Weighing on gold, US Treasury yields hovered near a three-week high.
Spot silver fell 0.1 percent to $20.28 per ounce, palladium slipped 1.5 percent to $2,242.90. Platinum fell 0.8 percent to $948.29 per ounce.
RIYADH: Egypt is in talks with regional and international banks as it ponders a loan of around $2.5 billion to relieve growing economic pressure, Bloomberg reported citing people with knowledge of the plans.
Government officials said they had no information on the issue, and the sources quoted by Bloomberg said that discussions may not result in a deal.
First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank are leading the loan discussions and have invited other banks to participate, they added.
Two of the people said that the borrowing is expected to be priced at around 400 basis points over the three-month secured overnight financing rate.
Egypt is seeking to garner $41 billion to pay for its current account deficit and maturing debt by the end of 2023, Bloomberg said.
The African country needs to urgently secure more foreign currency in its $400 billion economy to plug gaping deficits.
The world's largest wheat importer has been hit hard by the soaring oil and commodity prices, and by the loss of tourists from Russia and Ukraine, leading to pressure on the country and pushing it to seek International Monetary Fund assistance.
Egypt has also secured financing from the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar pledging more than $22 billion in deposits and investments in the struggling economy.
The Saudi Egyptian Investment Co., a company wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, acquired minority stakes in four Egyptian companies for $1.3 billion earlier this week.
This deal comes as part of the Kingdom’s commitment to channel resources.
RIYADH: Dubai's biggest listed developer, Emaar Properties, will acquire Dubai Creek Harbour from Dubai Holding for 7.5 billion dirhams ($2 billion).
The deal, to be paid equally in cash and shares of Emaar Properties, will make Dubai Holding the second largest shareholder of Emaar, the company said in a statement.
Emaar recorded sales of 4.2 billion dirhams in 2021 and 3.6 billion dirhams sales in Dubai Creek Harbour in the first half of 2022.
Located along the historic Dubai Creek waterfront, Dubai Creek Harbour has approximately 100 million sq. ft of future development which will provide future profit potential to Emaar, the statement said.
“We are pleased to announce the sale of Dubai Creek Harbour to Emaar, subject to finalisation,” a spokesperson of Dubai Holding said.
“We look forward to our investment in Emaar as a reference shareholder and the diversification benefits it offers, and we are confident that Dubai Creek Harbour will continue to reach greater heights and success,” the spokesperson said.
“We are determined to support the Government’s vision for sustainable urban development in Dubai while providing a redefined experience for residents and visitors,” a spokesperson of Emaar said.
Emaar Properties is a global property developer, with a land bank of 1.7 billion sq. ft. in the UAE and key international markets.
The developer has delivered over 86,200 residential units in Dubai and other global markets since 2002.
RIYADH: Saudi Industrial Services Co. is going to push ahead with its expansion plans despite seeing its profits plunge 93 percent in the first half of the year.
The firm’s CEO, Mohammed Al Mudarres, told Argaam that SISCO is continuing with its proposed strategy in acquisitions and expansion to achieve its strategic objectives for 2025 and 2026.
Al-Mudarres pointed out challenges in the port and logistics sector during the first half of the year, due to threats related to supply chains between China and Europe, rising shipping rates, and closures in China and shutdown of some plants.
While the firm pulled in just SR3.9 million in the first six months of 2022 compared to SR54.7 million during the same period the previous year, the second quarter of this year did see a rally in profits.
Gains over those three months stood at SR3.1 million, compared to SR0.8 million in the first quarter, driven by higher profitability at its subsidiary Kindasa Co. coupled with performance improvement from associate companies.
The firm is expected to achieve better results in the second half of 2022, on improved performance of the ports, logistics, water and other sectors, according to Al-Mudarres.
The top official indicated that customs duties and inflation in commodity prices were among the reasons that led to certain challenges faced by the import sector.
He concluded that this is a temporary period, as the market will become accustomed in the coming months and adapt to the current price rates.
SISCO declared a 4 percent interim dividend for 2022, as per its dividend policy.