🏦📉 U.S. Election Sets Markets on Edge

Hala,

The ‘Friends’ cast still rakes in about $20 million a year from reruns—a cozy paycheck for episodes that are older than most TikTok users.(1) 📺💰 Turns out, laughing all the way to the bank can become a full-time job! 😂🏦

amana’s take

• Election fever meets market jitters! With the 2024 U.S. presidential election just around the corner, markets are holding their breath. Tuesday’s vote could steer market vibes through year-end, though analysts say a win by Trump or Harris might not jolt stocks much. In other words, Wall Street’s watching—but not exactly biting its nails.
• Calm before the storm? Despite the hype, this election year has been a snoozer by historical standards. October clocked some of the lowest pre-election volatility in half a century, while the S&P 500 cruised to its best election-year start since 1932, up 20% by October’s end. Who knew tranquility could feel so suspenseful?
• As if the election drama wasn’t enough, markets are eyeing the Fed’s Nov. 7 meeting. A rate cut is on the table, but the crystal ball on future policy is still murky. With steady growth and tempered inflation, the Fed’s game plan? Take it slow and keep the data close.

Stock Market Update

🚀📈 U.S. stocks kicked off November with a tech-fueled rally on Friday, as Amazon took the wheel and traders put weak jobs data in the rearview. The Dow rose 0.69% to 42,052.19, the S&P 500 gained 0.41% to 5,728.80, and the Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.72% to 20,033.14.(2) Seems the bulls are back on Wall Street! 💃🎉

📊📶 Meanwhile, Gulf markets played seesaw as Iran-Israel tension rumors kept investors on edge. Saudi added 0.2% to 12,048, and Qatar eased 0.2% to 10,506.(3) ↗️↘️

🎭💹 Markets Enter a Balancing Act

As financial markets kick off the week, they’ve hit the high wire, juggling political drama and economic signals with the agility of a seasoned performer. With the U.S. election showdown in full swing and global rate decisions on the horizon, it’s shaping up to be a week of high-stakes acrobatics. (4) Add to that China’s National People’s Congress ready to unveil its next moves, and traders are clinging to the tightrope, hoping for a safe landing by Friday. 🐉🇺🇸

📊 Highlights of the Balancing Act

• Dollar Dive: As Kamala Harris inches ahead in Iowa, the greenback loses ground, down 0.75% against the yen.
• Central Bank Circus: The Fed, BoE, and RBA prepare for rate decisions—Fed’s up first with a possible rate cut, all eyes on their next move.
• OPEC Tightrope: Oil prices jump as OPEC+ delays its planned December output hike, adding fuel to the market fire. 🌎💸

🎪 Election Twists and Fiscal Turns

It’s not just a race for the White House that’s holding markets in suspense; China’s Congress is rumored to be floating a trillion-yuan stimulus to lift its economy. This, alongside whispers of a Fed rate cut, has currencies and commodities alike in a state of suspense. With oil, gold, and sterling moving in concert with election polls, investors are braced for an action-packed finale. All in all, this week promises to be one for the books! 🎢💼

Closer to Home 

• 📲 Saudi Telecom Company, the kingdom's top mobile player, saw Q3 profits drop 5% to SAR 4.64B ($1.23B), but still easily beat estimates of SAR 3.53B. And with a 37.5% dividend bump, it’s ringing up good news for shareholders!(5) 🤑
• 💰 Dubai-based TECOM Group's Q3 results are in: revenues skyrocketed 12% YoY to AED 611M and net profits rocketed 20% YoY to AED 340M, all thanks to a mix of loyal and new customers.(6) Talk about a financial fiesta! 💸
• 📈 Dr. Jihad Azour, Director of IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department, says the UAE is set to outpace GCC peers in 2025 with non-oil growth revving up to 4-5%.(7) Looks like the UAE’s economy just hit turbo! 🚀

What Else Is Trending

• 🤖 Nvidia’s set to replace Intel in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on November 8—a big nod to AI’s boom and the chip industry’s pivot. Turns out, blue chips love a smart upgrade!(8) 🛠️
• 🛢️ Oil prices got a slight boost from Iran-Israel tension on Friday, but record U.S. output cooled things down. Brent rose 0.4% to $73.10 a barrel, while WTI gained 0.3% to $69.49.(9) ⛽
• ✨ Lastly, spot gold lost a bit of its sparkle, dipping 0.2% to $2,736.28 under dollar pressure—but Fed rate cut hopes kept a bit of its shine intact.(10) 🌟

💬Quote of the Day

"There’s been a significant easing around the probability of a Republican sweep... the Democrats have certainly closed the gap." — Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG.

amana.app

Sources: (1) Pubity, (2) (8) CNBC, (3) (4) (9) (10) Reuters, (5) (6) Zawya, (7) Middle East Economy