ASIA/PACIFIC
-The Australian stock market closed slightly higher on Wednesday following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight.
-Asian stock markets traded mostly higher with only the Japanese index tumbling and shares of Japanese subway operator Tokyo Metro closing 45% higher after a stellar IPO.
– The Institute of Finance & Banking, affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) has called for Beijing to issue 2 trillion yuan ($280 billion) of special treasury bonds to set up a stock market stabilisation fund, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Wednesday.
. EUROPE
-European stocks opened on a mixed note Wednesday as investors in the region focused on corporate reports.
-Deutsche Bank shares dipped on Wednesday, as the German lender’s return to profit in Q3 failed to impress.
-Lloyds Banking Group’s net income dropped 4% to £4.35B in Q3.
. AMERICAS
North America
-US stock futures fell on Wednesday morning as traders grapple with Middle East tensions, a rising dollar and the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
Latin America
-JPMorgan Report: Fiscal Hurdles Loom for Latin American Economies in 2025.
-IDB Invest seals first LatAm securitization deal, Latin Finance reported. Lender says transaction is first ever by a development bank in Latin America and will free up $500 mln for additional lending.
. AFRICA
-Kenya and South Africa tax authorities target crypto users in bid to net cheats, The East African reported.
-The Saudi Export-Import Bank (Saudi EXIM) signed two memoranda of understanding with Absa Bank Limited and Standard Bank of South Africa Limited on the sidelines of the Saudi-South African Business Forum in Johannesburg.
-Egypt-BRICS trade exchange increases to $30.2bln in 8M 2024, up 15% y-o-y, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced. As of 1 January, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also joined the BRICS– creating a bloc worth over 37% of global GDP. Russia’s Kazan city hosts the 16th BRICS Summit from 22 to 24 October.
. MIDDLE EAST
-Mubadala Capital, which manages over $24 billion in assets, has closed its fourth private equity fund, MIC Capital Partners IV (Fund IV), with total commitments of $3.1 billion, well above its initial target of $2 billion.
-GCC IPOs raised $1.7 billion in Q3 2024, with Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) seeing the largest in a single offering – NMDC Energy raising $1.1 billion for a 23% stake.
-A day after UAE retail giant Lulu announced Abu Dhabi IPO plans, its chairman, Yusuff Ali MA, told Zawya that a possible listing on Tadawul, the Saudi exchange, could happen in the “long-term”.
