By Rafiq Vayani
DUBAI: Standard Chartered (“the Bank”) Wealth Solutions Chief Investment Office (CIO) has released its Global Market Outlook for the second half of 2026, outlining its investment strategy and key themes as investors navigate a more complex and evolving market environment. The report was launched alongside Global Market Outlook events in Dubai and Abu Dhabi this week, the first of their kind for the Bank regionally for the second half of this year.
The Bank’s CIO expects risky assets to remain supported by a soft-landing macro backdrop, though investors will need to navigate energy prices, equity supply, investor positioning and central bank policy in H2 2026.
For investors in the UAE and wider Middle East, evolving energy dynamics and easing geopolitical risk premiums following the US-Iran interim deal are expected to support sentiment, while stable oil prices and strong regional liquidity continue to underpin investment activity and diversification opportunities.
Against this backdrop, the CIO remains Overweight global equities, with a preference for the US and Asia ex-Japan, alongside selective opportunities in fixed income and alternatives.
Reflecting this stance, the CIO team sees further upside in key asset classes, with a target of 7,950 for the US S&P 500 index and USD 5,100 for gold by mid-2027, underscoring the role of equities as a core growth driver and gold as a strategic portfolio diversifier.
Global equities rose more than 12% year-to-date, supported by strong earnings and AI-driven optimism, despite geopolitical tensions, higher oil prices and elevated bond yields.
While this momentum is expected to extend into H2, investors will need to be more nimble as markets adjust to four key pivot points: energy prices, equity supply, investor positioning and central bank policy.
In the Middle East, including the UAE, oil market developments remain particularly relevant. While the interim US‑Iran agreement may ease supply constraints and soften prices, the pace of recovery in physical flows and inventory rebuilding is why energy prices are unlikely to immediately return to start-of-year levels, a key factor shaping inflation expectations and investment opportunities.
Ayesha Abbas, Managing Director and Head of Affluent and Wealth Solutions, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and UAE at Standard Chartered, said: “UAE investors are entering the second half of 2026 from a position of strength. The region continues to benefit from supportive liquidity conditions and the stabilisation of oil markets. In this environment, we are seeing strong demand for diversified portfolios that balance growth opportunities in global equities with income strategies such as Emerging Market USD bonds, alongside gold as a strategic hedge. For internationally minded clients in the UAE, staying invested and well-diversified will be key to capturing opportunities as markets evolve.”