RTA Partners with The Boring Company to Build Dubai Loop

The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) signed a partnership with The Boring Company at the World Governments Summit 2026 to build the Dubai Loop, an underground passenger transport tunnel system. The first phase involves a 6.4km pilot route with four stations connecting Dubai International Financial Centre and Dubai Mall, costing approximately AED 565mn with a one-year construction timeline. The full project will extend 22.2km with 19 stations, costing around AED 2bn over three years. The system uses 3.6-metre diameter tunnels and is expected to serve up to 30k passengers daily at full capacity.

The US government shutdown that began on Saturday was resolved on Tuesday after the House passed a funding bill by a narrow 217-214 vote. President Trump signed the legislation into law, providing full-year funding through September 30 for Defense, Treasury, State, HHS, Labor, Education and Transportation. However, the Department of Homeland Security was only funded for a two-week extension through February 13, with Democrats demanding accountability reforms at ICE. The next deadline for DHS funding negotiations is February 13.

Today’s Economic Data and Events

14:00 EU CPI MoM P Forecast: -0.5%

17:15 US ADP Employment Change Jan: forecast 45k.

19:00 US ISM Services Index Jan: forecast 53.5.

Fixed Income

US Treasuries were little changed on Tuesday. Yields on the 2yr UST were near flat, dipping less than 1bp to 3.5696% while the 10yr yield fell just over 1bp to 4.2655%.

FX

The US dollar weakened on Tuesday with the DXY index falling 0.2% to 97.437. EURUSD rose 0.24% to 1.1819 while GBPUSD added 0.23% to 1.3697. USDJPY was near flat, up 0.08% to 155.75. Swiss franc received haven support with USDCHF down 0.55% to 0.7753. Commodity currencies gained against the dollar with AUDUSD up 1.05% to 0.7021 and NZDUSD rising 0.78% to 0.6046. USDCAD fell 0.30% to 1.364.

In emerging markets, the Indian rupee was the standout performer following the trade deal with the US. USDINR fell 1.36% to 90.2725, its strongest move in recent months and a substantial recovery from the record low of 92.17 reached on January 28. Turkish lira was near unchanged with USDTRY up marginally by 0.06% to 43.4848. The Egyptian pound firmed modestly with USDEGP down 0.17% to 47.01

Equities

US equity markets pulled back on Tuesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.84% to 6,917.81 after testing record highs earlier in the session. The Dow Jones dipped 0.3% to 49,241, having touched a new intraday record at 49,653 before reversing. The NASDAQ was lower by 1.4% at 23,255.

In Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 declined 0.2%, the FTSE 100 lost 0.3%.

Local equity markets had a positive session. The DFM rallied 0.61% while the ADX was up by 1.3%. In Saudi's Tadawul gained 0.07%.

Commodities

Oil prices rebounded on Tuesday after a US fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone approaching the USS Abraham Lincoln and IRGC vessels harassed a US-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, injecting fresh geopolitical risk premium into the market. Brent futures rose 1.55% to USD 67.33/b while WTI gained 1.72% to USD 63.21/b, recovering some of Monday’s steep losses.

Precious metals staged a strong rebound on Tuesday after last week’s sell-off. Gold surged 6.12% to USD 4,946.76/oz. Silver rallied 7.43% to USD 85.16/oz.