Major US and Chinese tech firms on Wall Street lost a combined USD 33 bn in market cap on Friday after a mysterious USD 19 bn sell-off left investors positing that a big hedge fund or family investment office was looking to wind down bns worth of positions, the Financial Times reports. The sell-off saw brokers offering prominent stocks in “block trades,” which involve offering large chunks of stocks at prices negotiated outside the market. Though a common phenomenon, the size of the sales and the fact they took place within normal trading hours is “unprecedented,” traders told Bloomberg, leaving investment managers wondering whether markets can expect another wave of block trades today.

Bloomberg says the family office of former Tiger Management trader Bill Hwang was behind the sales.

A select number of seasoned bond bulls are going against the current by banking on a medium term drop in US treasury yields, and are piling into cheap bonds now in anticipation of a price rise as yields slump, the Wall Street Journal writes. A burst of economic optimism off the back of a vaccine recovery and government stimulus package will not be enough to buoy yields much further beyond their current rates, says chief investment strategist at PGIM Fixed Income Robert Tipp, who believes that structural factors such as an ageing population and rising private sector debt will soon push yields down. “When the economy recovers strongly like it is right now, investors push up yields, but a lot of times, actually most of the time, they tend to pass through fair value and keep going,” he said.

The EGX30 ended yesterday’s session flat on turnover of EGP 685 mn (53.5% below the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 0.2% YTD.

In the green: Pioneers (+3.3%), Oriental Weavers (+2.2%) and Telecom Egypt (+2.1%).

In the red: Eastern Co. (-2.1%), Export Development Bank (-1.4%) and GB Auto (-1.3%).

It’s green as far as the eye can see in Asia this morning, with Japan’s Nikkei leading the gainers. Futures have Europe and Toronto opening handily in the green later today, while suggesting that in Wall Street the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq will all be in the red at the opening bell.