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Wall St. to open with mixed crowds ahead of SK Hynix's listing; Middle East is in focus
Wall Street indexes opened mixed on Friday as investors awaited SK Hynix's highly anticipated Nasdaq debut. Meanwhile, the newest escalations in the Middle East conflict sparked inflation fears. Chipmakers' gains fueled the main U.S. indices to close higher during the previous session. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow were all on track to gain weekly gains as of Thursday's closing. The AI trade was also back on the agenda ahead of SK Hynix listing in the U.S. on Friday. This is the largest share offering in history, after SpaceX?s IPO record-breaking last month. Memory-chip maker, Samsung, raised $26.5 billion by selling American Depositary Receipts at $149 each on Thursday. We've heard it's (SK Hynix), oversubscribed, and people want the stock. I don't believe it will be a catastrophe or cause negative?volatility. In fact, once the trading begins, it may even boost the entire chip industry as we head into the weekend," said Kathleen Brooks at XTB, the research director. The AI rally this year has been fueled by the expectation of large investments in data centers and AI infrastructure. Recent volatility in the sector has been attributed to concerns about 'over-inflated valuations' and profit-taking. Semiconductor shares were under pressure during premarket trading. Intel fell about 2.6%. Micron Technology, a maker of memory-chips, eased by 1.3% following a 4.5% gain in the previous trading session. At 8:28 a.m. The Dow E-minis rose 104 points or 0.2% and the S&P E-minis fell 1 point or 0.01%. Nasdaq E-minis fell 84.25, or 0.28 percent. Investors were also on edge due to geopolitical risk after the Iranian military launched an attack on U.S. infrastructure in Gulf states, on Thursday. This followed U.S. attacks on Iran's eastern and southern provinces. The latest escalation has rekindled concerns about inflationary effects of the war. John Williams, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, said that he didn't expect Middle East hostilities to cause an increase in energy prices throughout the year. The Federal Reserve will be able to gain new insight next week from the June inflation data, and Fed Chairman Kevin?Warsh has also been scheduled to testify in front of the House Committee on Financial Services. According to LSEG, the markets are pricing in at least a 25-basis point rate increase by 2026. Delta Air Lines fell 0.5% in volatile trading, despite forecasting a third-quarter profit that was above expectations. Stocks related to bitcoin have risen, following the gains made by this cryptocurrency. Strategy increased by 5.4% while Coinbase, Riot Platforms, and Riot Platforms all added 4.9% and 2.2% respectively. Next week, earnings are expected to pick up. According to LSEG data, analysts expect S&P 500 earnings will rise by 24% compared to a year ago, with technology companies leading the way. (Reporting by Ragini Mathur and Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Shinjini Ganguli)
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UN document: Countries must reject Iran's efforts to control Hormuz
The U.N. Shipping Agency's governing board agreed that countries should reject Iran's efforts to impose sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and Tehran's unilateral decision to create an agency to control traffic in the waterway. This week, the U.S. and Iran engaged in hostilities, which included U.S. airstrikes triggered by Washington's accusation that Tehran was responsible for attacks on ships. The attacks have renewed concerns over the recovery of oil supplies and shipping worldwide, and they have highlighted the fragility in an interim truce that was supposed to end a conflict lasting more than four months while the U.S. negotiated a permanent agreement with Iran. The International Maritime Organization, based in London, is the U.N. body responsible for regulating international shipping safety and security and preventing pollution. It has 176 members. The 40 members of the governing council discussed this week how to protect vital shipping routes. Gulf countries, United States and Iran clashed on the future of the Strait. IMO COUNCIL: NO RECOGNITION of IRAN's?Sovereignty Claim, According to the text a non-binding resolution reached, the IMO Council "strongly condemn" Iran's "establishment of an entity purporting control traffic through strait." In its decision, the Council called on member states to not recognize "Iran's claim of sovereign authority over the Strait of Hormuz and its assertions of maritime zones of strait states, which violated the sovereignty, sovereignty rights, and exclusive jurisdiction of those states", and to not recognize any Iranian actions aimed at "closing international navigation or interfering in transit passages". The newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority in Iran stated that, "no vessel is allowed to pass through this waterway without a valid permit issued by the authority". Iran, which doesn't have a seat in the?Council told IMO delegates that it rejects "selective, politically motivated, and legally unfounded?allegations? made against it. Iran is not a signatory to the UNCLOS convention on international maritime law and "is not bound by the treaty based regime", said its IMO delegation. "The measures taken by Iran are intended to maintain maritime safety and security. They will prevent the support or assistance of acts of aggression. They will safeguard Iran's vital security interests and its sovereignty. And they will ensure that navigation is safe and non-threatening. Tehran's delegation stated that these measures did not amount to a closure of the Strait. (Reporting and editing by Sharon Singleton; Jonathan Saul)
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Polish air traffic control funding frozen over COVID vaccine decision
It was announced 'on Friday that the organisation in Poland responsible for air traffic control could lose airline fees amounting to more than 80% of their income as a result of a Belgian Court ruling on a case brought against Poland by U.S. pharmaceutical company?Pfizer over payment for COVID-19 vaccinations. The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation in Brussels (Eurocontrol), informed the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency that it was owed money from airline fees. This is due to the April ruling. PANSA stated that it was preparing an official objection as the case was not related to its operations. However, PANSA was also taking steps to ensure financial resources to continue operations. The court ordered that Poland and Romania receive COVID-19 vaccines worth EUR1.9 billion ($2.2billion) made by Pfizer & BioNTech. Poland received EUR1.3 billion alone. Warsaw refused in April 2022 to honor the contract, citing a slowing pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, as well as possible abuse by Pfizer of its dominant position. PANSA issued a statement saying that Eurocontrol's receipt of an enforcement order means it must withhold funds collected from PANSA for en route fees, both current and future payments, until Pfizer has satisfied its claim or the case has been resolved. Last week, Romanian air traffic controller Romatsa announced that Eurocontrol imposed a?precautionary seizure' on its account. The target was 3.4 billion lei ($743 millions) and recovery costs EUR18.5million. Romatsa, according to the government, will appeal this measure in Belgium. The seizure won't stop its operations. Eurocontrol had no ?comment. The Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk blamed the previous government, and said at a press conference that the government wouldn't leave PANSA unaided, but the overall situation was "quite ugli". He said: "Our legal fight is still ongoing, but the danger is evident." The Justice Ministry of Belgium did not respond immediately to an email request for comment. Pfizer stated?in an e-mail that "the Belgian court's judgment reflects on the importance of?contractual responsibilities that supported a successful European response to pandemics" and that it was taking the appropriate legal enforcement steps.
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Philippine Air orders 15 Boeing 787-10s and nine Airbus A350-1000s
Industry sources reported on Friday that PAL is expected to announce its first Boeing purchase in nearly 20 years. These orders will be announced this month at the Farnborough Airshow. The inclusion of the Boeing 787 in the competition will trigger a separate engine race between Britain's Rolls-Royce Aerospace and U.S. giant GE Aerospace. Airbus and Boeing refused to comment on the commercial discussions. Philippine Airlines stated that it was unable to provide any?information regarding potential fleet acquisitions. The airline's president announced at an industry summit in June that it planned to order "new planes" within the next two months. Bloomberg News reported this week that the airline had decided to split its order for 20 planes evenly between Airbus and Boeing. PAL has a wide-body fleet that is a mix of older-generation Airbus 777s, Boeing 777s, and a few of the more recent A350s. The 787-10 is most directly in competition with Airbus's upgraded A330neo. After a global showdown on?tariffs Washington is aiming to reduce its trade deficit, which was nearly $5 billion in 2024. The Philippines has committed to increasing?imports of goods from the United States. PAL, which is expanding due to the country's plans for a new airport, announced last month that it would join the Oneworld Alliance and end its isolation from the major airline groups. (Reporting and editing by David Goodman, Sharon Singleton, Karen Lema)
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Wall St Futures Mixed ahead of SK Hynix Listing; Middle East in Focus
U.S. Stock Futures were mixed Friday, after a strong Wall Street rally. Investors awaited SK Hynix's highly anticipated Nasdaq debut and weighed the impact of recent Middle East conflict escalation. Chipmakers' gains fueled the main U.S. indices to close higher during the previous session. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow were all on track to gain weekly gains as of Thursday's closing. The AI trade was also back on the agenda ahead of SK Hynix listing in the U.S. on Friday. Memory-chip maker raised $26.5 billion by selling American?Depositary Receivables' priced at $149. This is the largest share offering in history, surpassing SpaceX's record-breaking IPO. "SK Hynix's ?U.S. The listing is a few weeks too late, as memory chip suppliers' shares have fallen after a purple period earlier in the year," said Dan Coatsworth. The demand for U.S. shares has been higher than expected. This?implies that the memory chip rally may have taken a breather rather than reached its peak." The AI rally this year has been fueled by the expectation of large expenditures on data centers and AI Infrastructure. Recent volatility in the sector has been attributed to concerns about overvalued valuations and profit-taking. Semiconductor shares were under pressure during premarket trading. Intel fell about 3%. Micron Technology, a maker of memory-chips, eased by 1.3% following a 4.5% gain in the previous session. At 6:59 a.m. Dow E-minis rose 124 points or 0.24% and S&P E-minis gained 1.5 points or 0.02%. Nasdaq E-minis were down 88.25 or 0.29 percent. Investors were also on edge due to geopolitical risks after the Iranian military launched attacks against U.S. military facilities in Gulf states, on Thursday. This was following U.S. airstrikes on Iran's southern coastal and eastern provinces. The latest escalation has revived concerns over the inflationary effect of war. New York - Federal Reserve President John Williams said that he didn't expect Middle East hostilities would cause energy prices to rise for the remainder of the year. Kevin Warsh, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, is scheduled to appear before House Committee on Financial Services on Monday. According to LSEG, markets are?pricing-in at least a 25-basis point rate increase by the end 2026. Delta Air Lines rose by nearly 1% following a forecast of third-quarter profits that were?above expectation. Stocks related to crypto-currencies have risen in line with the rise of bitcoin. Strategy gained 5.6% while Coinbase, Riot Platforms, and Riot Platforms each added?3.9% or 2.3%. LSEG data shows that earnings are expected to pick up next week. Analysts expect S&P 500 earnings will rise by 24% compared to a year ago, with technology companies leading the way. (Reporting by Ragini Mathur and Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Shinjini Ganguli)
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Spanish wildfire victims burnt in cars after roads became death traps
Residents in rural Andalusian towns around Los Gallardos, southern Spain, fled as flames approached and smoke filled the air. Some paid with their lives for this decision. On Friday, firefighters were still battling to put out?one of?Spain's most deadly wildfires. Eleven people have been confirmed dead and 19 others are missing. Residents of the mountainous area above Los Gallardos were advised to evacuate using a recommended route. Residents of the densely forested Bedar hamlet, meanwhile, were instructed to shelter in place. Antonio Rubio said that the smoke made it impossible for him to stay in one place as the flames approached. We left the house at 5 pm on Thursday afternoon. "The fire did not reach my house - it stopped a few feet short of it, but we could see smoke even though it was a distance away. We had to leave," said he. "We left of our own free will." Sonia, an English woman who lives in Los Gallardos and declined to reveal her last name, told reporters that she took in relatives because the authorities had ordered them to evacuate by 7 pm (1700 GMT). She explained that she was told to take a route up the mountains and avoid the main road out of Bedar. Then, they were instructed to return back down the coast. She said, "There are many homes in the middle countryside in the mountains. People would take whichever road they could." The road from Bedar to Los Gallardos had been blocked because the fire had crossed it and made it impassable. SHELTERING IN PLACE SAFELY SAVED LIFE Antonio Sanz is the head of emergency services in Andalusia. He said that residents in Bedar were told to either follow the recommended route of evacuation or stay at home because the fire was close. In situations such as this, it's important that everyone follows the directions. "Unfortunately, in this case a decision was made to use a different route which wasn't recommended for evacuation. Finding another route out via a dried riverbed proved to be a trap. Sanz stated that four people who appeared to be British, as their steering wheel was on the right, died in a vehicle. Seven others were found dead after abandoning their vehicles to run away on foot. He said that ten of the victims were foreigners, while one Spaniard was confirmed dead. He added that "the village of Bedar was not affected by flames in many cases, so the order to shelter-in-place avoided a more severe situation." As authorities searched for the missing and the dead in the early morning hours of Friday, relatives around the world posted messages to social media and local forums. A woman in the United States sent a message to local emergency services, saying that her brother was among 10 people who had?tried? to escape from a valley near a stream. She shared the coordinates with the emergency services and asked them to look for him. Juanma Moreno, the?regional president of?Moreno, said that it was understandable for people to want to run away. "When people see a burning building, they run away. They think they are familiar with the routes, but without the correct information, these routes can become deadly traps. Reporting by Corina Poons and Aislinn laing, writing by Aislinn laing; editing by Sharon Singleton
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Ryanair emergency landing in Greece due to a 'dislodged window'
Ryanair confirmed that one of its planes had to make an emergency landing in Greece shortly after take-off, due to a "dislodged" window. Two industry sources said a passenger may have been partially sucked from a window. The airline said that one person received medical assistance, but did give no further details. The plane was flying between Thessaloniki and Memmingen Airport in Germany. In a statement,?Ryanair stated that the 'aircraft landed normal and passengers returned to the terminal. Local media in Greece reported a broken piece of engine that caused a window to break, which led to a cabin decompressing and pulling a passenger out of the window. Two people who knew about the incident relayed to us the same information. Unverified videos posted to'social media from the inside the plane showed a cracked window and oxygen masks hanging 'from the ceiling. Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Michele Kambas; Editing by Edward McAllister & Susan Fenton
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Delta forecast indicates that airline fares can increase despite lower fuel prices
Delta Air Lines reaffirmed ?its full-year profit forecast and provided a stronger-than-expected third-quarter outlook on Friday, signaling confidence that recent fare gains can hold even ?as fuel prices ease from this year's highs. The first major U.S. airline to report its results,?the?outlook?, offers a?early read on whether airlines will be able to maintain fare increases that were pushed through in the spring fuel crisis as costs decrease. Delta Chief financial officer Erik Snell stated that the carrier recovered approximately 60% of the fuel price increase in the second quarterly, faster than they have historically done, and expects to recover even more this quarter. Snell, a reporter at the time, said that "Demand is strong" and that there were no signs of weakness. "We haven’t seen any elasticity." The spring of this year saw airlines raise fares due to a spike in jet fuel prices linked to the Iran conflict. Fuel prices have since fallen from their peak. However, airline investors are still watching to see if lower costs will boost profits or if carriers add too much capacity back after the summer. Delta projected 2026 adjusted earnings between $6.50 and $7.50 per common share. This range was first announced in January, but it had been left out of the first-quarter report released in April. The $7 midpoint is 17% higher than the $5.97 expected by LSEG analysts. In premarket trading, shares of the airline were up around 3%. Snell stated that fuel price volatility will be a major factor if Delta lands on the upper end its range. The airline expects revenue strength to continue until year's end. The carrier predicted third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.00 to 2.50 per share compared to analysts' average estimate of $2.02. It is expecting a mid-teens revenue increase and an operating margin between 11% and 13%. Delta's main competitors, United Airlines (also known as American Airlines), Southwest Airlines and Southwest Airlines will release their results in the next few weeks. FARE GAINS HOLD Delta's results indicate that airlines generate revenue growth by pricing, rather than expanding capacity. The airline reported revenue increases of almost 14% in the second half on just a 1% increase in capacity. The second quarter saw a 11% increase in passenger revenue per seat mile, a measure that shows how much revenue Delta makes for every seat-mile. Snell stated that Delta's volume for the third quarter would be?roughly flat to slightly higher than a year ago, indicating its revenue growth will be driven more by fares as well as passenger mix rather than additional flying. Delta reports that its premium revenue grew by 17%, while revenue from main cabin tickets grew by 8%. This supports Delta's belief that "demand is still strong" beyond the highest-paying passengers. Post-Summer Test Analysts believe that the biggest test for airlines comes after Labor Day, in September when leisure travel is typically "softer". The biggest threat to the current strength of fares is their fourth-quarter plans. Carriers could lose the price gains they made during the fuel crisis if too many flights return at once. Snell stated that the airline can adjust its flying close in if the demand declines as it did during the second quarter. Fuel relief narrows. Higher fuel prices led to a 26% drop in Delta's adjusted earnings for the second quarter to $1.56 per shares from a year ago. The earnings per share still exceeded analysts' expectations of $1.48. Delta reported that it had absorbed its highest quarterly fuel expenses in history. This was up $1.9 billion from a year ago. Snell stated that Delta's fuel bill would be approximately $4 billion more this year than it was last year. It is assuming that the fuel price for?the third-quarter will be about $3.15 per gallon. U.S. spot Jet Fuel has risen to $3.18 per gallon. This is the first time since mid-June that it has been above $3, amid renewed hostilities in the Middle East between the U.S. Prices are still well below the peak in early April of approximately $4.88 a gallon.
UAE markets recover; E& surging on Vodafone stake sale
The stock markets of the United Arab Emirates ended a tad higher on Friday. They followed gains in global equities as investors recovered after two sessions of losses fueled by renewed hostilities between Iran and the United States.
Globally, the Nikkei soared 1.2%, South Korea's KOSPI jumped 2.5% and pan-European STOXX was up by 0.1%.
Dubai's main stock index rose 0.9% on the back of gains in financial and?industrial?stocks.
Dubai Islamic Bank gained 3,1% while the top lender Emirates NBD Bank?added 1,4%.
Taaleem Holding, which reported a 21% increase in its third-quarter profit of 105.6 million dirhams (28.75 millions dollars), rose 3.5%.
Emirates Global Aluminium announced on Friday that it had restarted production of alumina feedstock in its Al Taweelah refinery located in Abu Dhabi. The facility would reach 50% capacity within a few days.
Abu Dhabi's benchmark indices settled 0.5% higher, led by gains of 5.3% in the telecom operator E& Group as well as 0.8% in the energy shipping company Adnoc L&S.
E& has recorded its biggest intra-day profit in more than three and a half years, after announcing that it would'sell its entire stake in Vodafone' to the investment vehicle of Xavier Niel family. The deal was worth $5.95 billion.
The company stated that the deal will price Vodafone shares at 112.5 pences, which is a 15% premium over their last closing?pence of 97.76?pences, and result in an estimated net cash return of $1.3 billion.
Prices of oil, which are a major driver for Gulf economies, rose 0.7% to $76.86 per barrel at 1136 GMT. ($1 = 3.6729 UAE Dirham) (Reporting and editing by Joyjeet Das in Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)