Hala,
Holy Walk of Fame, Batman! 🦇⭐️ On September 26, Gotham’s finest will become the first superhero to get his own star at 6764 Hollywood Boulevard.(1) Rumor has it, the Bat-Signal will be on standby… just in case the Joker tries to crash the party. 🃏🎉 #BatStar
amana’s Take
- The US Dollar Index slid 0.4%, dipping below 101.00 as investors hit pause, waiting for the week’s big data releases and Wednesday’s Fed decision. With the markets holding their breath, the greenback’s recent struggles continued.
- While the dollar slumped, EURUSD hit a 10-day high above 1.1100, and GBPUSD extended its rally past 1.3200. Europe’s ZEW Economic Sentiment report is in focus, but it’s clear the dollar isn’t holding up its end of the bargain.
- Gold flirted with a record near $2,590, before settling slightly lower at $2,580. With traders balancing Fed anticipation and inflation data, the precious metal still holds its safe-haven appeal.
Stock Market Update
📈📉 US stocks took a rollercoaster ride on Monday as investors awaited the Fed’s policy meeting and the much-anticipated rate cut, the first since 2020. The S&P 500 gained 0.13% to 5,633.09, the Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.47% to 19,423.06, and the Dow soared 0.55% to a record 41,622.08.(2) The plot thickens at Wall Street! 🎢🛼
🆙⬆️ Meanwhile, Gulf stocks rose largely for the same reason. Abu Dhabi rose 0.4% to 9,389, while Dubai added 0.3% to 4,395.(3) ⏫🔼
🎉🛒 LuLu’s Big IPO Rollout: Double Trouble on ADX & Tadawul
The UAE retail giant, LuLu Group, is prepping for the big leagues with an IPO that’s expected to hit the shelves by late October or early November.(4) With a dual listing on Abu Dhabi’s ADX and Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul, LuLu aims to bag between $1.5 billion and $1.85 billion. Talk about a shopping spree! Sources say the timing is perfect — just in time to get those IPOs before the holiday rush. 🎁📊
💼💸 Key Numbers to Watch:
- IPO Expected: Late October to early November 📅
- Target: $1.5 billion to $1.85 billion 💰
- Dual Listing: ADX & Tadawul 📈
- Bookrunners:Emirates NBD, HSBC, ADCB, Citigroup 🏦
🏗️🏬 LuLu’s Expansion Plans in Full Swing
LuLu, which operates 260 stores and 24 shopping malls across the GCC and beyond, isn’t just stopping at an IPO. The retailer is expanding like your favorite supermarket’s snack aisle — 80 new hypermarkets are in the works! Backed by a $10 billion debt refinancing move last year, the company is flexing its financial muscles and looks poised to keep growing faster than a Black Friday checkout line. 🛒💨 #LuLuOnTheMove
Closer to Home
- 🏦 UAE banks are swimming in cash, with liquid assets hitting AED 801.52B ($218B) in Q2 2024, up 20.2% YoY. Capital adequacy ratio? A robust 18.3%, well over the 13% required minimum.(5) UAE’s financial fort is well-guarded! 🤑
- 💰 Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff Company (SADAFCO) is serving up a sweet SAR 199.91M in cash dividends or 60% of its capital, for H1 2024. Shareholders get SAR 6 per share across 31.99 million shares.(6) #DividendAlert! 💸
- 🚕 Dubai’s flying taxis are ready to take off by late 2025! Partnering with Uber, you can hop from vertiport to vertiport in 10 minutes — no traffic, no noise, just futuristic flying.(7) Ready for lift-off? ✈️
What Else Is Trending
- 💼 Amazon’s ditching remote work! Starting next year, employees will be back in the office five days a week. CEO Andy Jassy says in-office work boosts innovation and collaboration.(8) Looks like WFH is out, and office life is back in! 👨💻
- 🛢️ Meanwhile, oil prices rose on Monday as Hurricane Francine’s punch to the Gulf of Mexico output blew past China’s demand woes. Brent advanced 1.28% at $72.53, and WTI climbed 1.63% to $69.77.(9) ⛽
- 🪙 Lastly, gold prices hit a glittering new high as a weaker dollar and Fed rate cut hopes gave it a shine. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,580.24 an ounce.(10) ✨
💬Quote of the Day
“The IPO offering should open in the window between the last week of October and early November, making it an ideal period before the December holidays set in,” — a source for Zawya.
Learn more: https://amana.app/interest
Sources: (1) Billboard, (2) (9) (10) CNBC, (3) Reuters, (4)(5) (6) (8) Zawya, (7) Khaleej Times
