Global stocks climbed to an intraday record high for a third straight session, while the US dollar showed signs of stabilising after a sharp drop in the prior session yesterday.
US stocks were higher in the early stages of trading on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 crossing 7,000 for the first time ahead of earnings from megacap companies Microsoft, Tesla and Meta Platforms after the closing bell, while results from Apple are due today.
“These big round numbers can be difficult psychological tests for the market. So certainly from a technical analysis perspective, we think it’s a very positive sign,” said Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist for LPL Financial in Boston.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.45 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 49,006.97, the S&P 500 rose 16.20 points, or 0.23pc, to 6,994.80 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 124.60 points, or 0.53pc, to 23,943.34.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 3.01 points, or 0.29pc, to 1,054.17 after climbing to an intraday record of 1,055.04, marking its third straight intraday record.
The index is on track for a sixth straight advance, its longest streak of gains this year.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.67pc, weighed by a drop of about 7pc in LVMH after the Louis Vuitton and Tiffany owner reported quarterly results, but CEO Bernard Arnault said he was cautious about the year ahead.
The dollar showed signs of steadying, after its biggest daily percentage drop since August 1, as US President Donald Trump on Tuesday seemed to shrug off its recent weakness that sent the greenback to a four-year low.
The dollar has stumbled recently on factors including expectations of continued Fed rate cuts later this year, tariff uncertainty, policy volatility, including threats the central bank’s independence, and rising fiscal deficits, all of which have dented investor confidence in US economic stability.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.32pc to 96.22, with the euro down 0.61pc at $1.1968 after breaching the $1.20 mark following Trump’s comments.
European Central Bank policymakers flagged increasing concerns over the euro’s quick appreciation against the dollar, warning that it could drag inflation down even as price growth is already set to undershoot the ECB’s 2pc target.
The Fed is expected to hold rates steady at a meeting overshadowed by a Trump administration criminal investigation of its chief Jerome Powell, an evolving effort to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and the nomination of a successor to Powell in May.
Investors see the pause in rate cuts lasting beyond Powell’s final meetings in March and April.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.39pc to 152.78, while sterling weakened 0.34pc to $1.3798.
The United States has a strong dollar policy and that means setting the right fundamentals, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, while denying that the US was intervening in currency markets to support the yen after the Japanese currency saw a surge against the greenback last week.
Dollar weakness continued to support other commodities, helping gold hit a record above $5,300 an ounce. US crude rose 1.31pc to $63.21 a barrel and Brent rose to $68.26 per barrel, up 1.02pc on the day after hitting a four-month high of $68.53.
Meanwhile, Bahrain All Share Index closed at 2,052.32 points yesterday, marking an increase of 2.19 points above the previous closing.
This increase was due to the rise in the communications services sector, consumer discretionary sector, financial sector, industrial sector and consumer staples sector.
Bahrain Islamic Index has closed at 1,011.57 points, marking an increase of 3.63 points above the previous closing.
Results indicated that 95 equity transactions took place with a volume of 1,971,916 worth BD844,351.
Investors traded mainly in the Non-Bahraini Companies Sector, representing 45.56pc of the total value of securities traded.
Most Gulf stock markets closed higher yesterday as investors focused on corporate earnings and firmer oil prices, while the Egyptian stock exchange snapped a nine-day winning streak.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index gained 0.7pc, with oil major Saudi Aramco up 1.5pc, while Alinma Bank advanced 3.2pc following a sharp rise in annual net profit. In a separate bourse filing, the bank also proposed a capital increase through bonus shares, granting one bonus share for every five shares held.
Dubai’s main share index advanced 0.8pc, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties rising 2.3pc. Among other gainers, Dubai Financial Market jumped 1.8pc, as the bourse operator is slated to report its earnings later in the day. In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.4pc, with ADNOC Gas up 1.4pc. The energy firm will invest more than $20 billion to increase its gas processing capacity by almost 30pc by 2029, its CEO Fatema Al Nuaimi said on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, the UAE’s largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank closed 0.7pc higher, following a 22pc increase in fourth-quarter net profit.
The Qatari index gained 0.8pc, led by a 1.3pc rise in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar. Mesaieed Petrochemical added 1.4pc ahead of its earnings announcement.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index eased 0.1pc, ending a nine-day winning streak.
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