Markets, 28 October 2026
Wednesday open: UAE stocks bounce, oil edges up, metals flat
What moved
- UAE stocks had a good Tuesday. The DFM rose about 2% to 5,864 and the ADX about 1.1% to 9,746. Both are still down on the month, about 2% and 4.5%. In the US, the S&P 500 closed at 7,723 (+0.6%) and the Nasdaq at 26,478 (+1.2%).
- Oil is up a little. Brent is around $111 a barrel and WTI around $101, each up about 1% on the day. Over a week Brent is up about 1% and WTI nearly 4%. Brent’s monthly +12.5% still spans the late-September contract roll, so I wouldn’t lean on it.
- Metals are flat. COMEX copper is about $14,670 a tonne, down 0.1% on the day and up about 1% on the week. Aluminium is around $3,185, down 0.3% today but up about 2% on the week, still about 6% below a month ago. Zinc hasn’t updated since 23 October ($3,944).
- Steel is holding its gains. US Midwest HRC is about $1,524 a tonne, roughly flat today, up about 1% on the week and nearly 5% on the month. Shanghai rebar closed at 3,062 yuan a tonne, about flat, still with no weekly history.
- Rates, dollar and gold. The latest Treasury yields are from 26 October: the 2-year at 4.68% and the 10-year at 5.00%. On the week they’re down about 9 and 15 basis points. The dollar index is about 102.4, and gold is around $4,057, down about 2.5% on the week.
- Slow-moving indexes (September, unchanged): the US PPIs for copper wire and cable (+0.8%), steel wire drawing (+0.6%) and cement (flat).
The truth: For UAE cable, electrical and construction suppliers, this is a quiet morning. Copper and aluminium barely moved, so conductor costs give you no new reason to act. Steel has stopped climbing for now, but it’s kept last week’s jump, so the question for your mills is still where the next offer lands. The bounce on the local exchanges is nice to see, but one good session doesn’t undo a down month. Oil around $111 keeps Gulf budgets healthy, and freight and energy stay expensive. Treasury yields eased over the week, which helps a bit on financing, and with the dirham pegged it carries straight through. Still, a 10-year at 5% isn’t cheap money. My read: nothing here changes the plan. Keep quote validity short on steel-heavy work and keep metal escalation clauses in.
Sources and as-of dates for every number are on the Markets board.