ASIA/PACIFIC
-The Australian stock market closed higher on Thursday after comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated a rate cut in September if inflation data remained “encouraging.”
–Asian markets were mixed amid expectations that long-sought cuts to interest rates will be arriving soon but Japan stocks tumbled as the yen strengthened.
-Indian government bond yields dropped, with the benchmark yield hitting a 28-month low, while the rupee appreciated slightly against the dollar after the US Federal Reserve’s dovish commentary.
. EUROPE
– Major stock market indices in Europe opened mostly lower as investors are geared up for the Bank of England’s (BoE) new decision on its interest rate, which is scheduled for later in the day.
-Barclays’ Q2 total income up 1% to £6.3 billion, above a forecast of £6.25 billion. The British lender also announced a share buyback program of up to £750 million. Shares were 2% higher at 8:09 a.m. London time.
-Oil giant Shell’s Q2 earnings up by 24% to $6.29 billion beating analyst expectations of $5.9 billion, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. OPEC+ likely to stick to output policy at Aug 1 JMMC meeting, despite recent sharp declines in oil prices, five sources from the producer group told Reuters.
. AMERICAS
North America
–Billionaire investor Bill Ackman scrapped the launch of Pershing Square USA on Wednesday, days before the fund was slated to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Latin America
-Brazil’s Committee on Monetary Policy (Copom) unanimously decided to keep the Selic rate at 10.50% per annum.
-Chile revised its economic growth forecast for 2024, lowering it from 2.7% to 2.6%.
. AFRICA
– The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) offered treasury bills (T-bills) worth EGP 65 billion through two auctions on Thursday, 1 August 2024.
-Nigeria’s currency in circulation exceeds N4 trillion in June 2024 for the first time in history, the latest data from the central bank revealed.
-South Africa’s rand benefits from softer dollar: In morning trading, the rand was below R18.23/$, from above R18.30 on Wednesday as Fed hints at September rate cut.
. MIDDLE EAST
-The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) reported a substantial increase in brokerage firms, with 56,345 new investor accounts opened in the first seven months of 2024, up 85% on an annual basis.
-ESG sukuk issuance in GCC reached $18.5bln by end-H1 2024, or 43% of global ESG sukuk of $43 billion, Fitch said.
-The Central Bank of the UAE kept the Base Rate applicable to the Overnight Deposit Facility (ODF) at 5.40 percent, following the US Federal Reserve’s announcement.
