Happy Tuesday, ladies and gentlemen — and happy International Women’s Day. This year’s theme for the day is “break the bias,” encouraging everyone to “actively call out gender bias, discrimination and stereotyping.” Today’s Google Doodle also features a slideshow portraying the different roles women take on in their daily lives.

Today, we’re also kicking off a new section in EnterprisePM. Every Tuesday, we’ll run our Founder of the Week section, wherein we speak to startup founders about their business, themselves, and the challenges they face along the way.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

The EGX slipped further into correction territory today, closing down 2.8%, on turnover of EGP 1.29 bn. The bourse is now down 13% year-to-date.

Equity markets elsewhere are mixed: Saudi’s Tadawul closed up a modest 0.34%, while the Abu Dhabi Exchange was up 0.62% at the closing bell, and Dubai’s bourse slipped 0.2% today.

Asian markets also fell, with the Nikkei, Hang Seng Index, ASX 200, KOSPI, and Shanghai all ending the trading day in the red.

European exchanges are having a better day than most: Germany’s DAX, London’s FTSE, and the Stoxx Europe 600 are all in the green.

Oil and gas prices are still seeing wild swings, with Brent crude futures rising another 3.18% today to trade at USD 127.13 per barrel. Natural gas prices in Europe are holding steady, with benchmark Dutch TTF rallying more than 30% in early trading before cooling off “to trade almost unchanged,” Bloomberg reports.

Nickel’s unprecedented price moves pushed the London Metal Exchange to suspend trading on its nickel contracts, which could extend for several days, according to a statement (pdf). The exchange is also considering whether to reverse or adjust trades on the metal booked before this morning, after it briefly breached the USD 100k per tonne mark this morning.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• The government will likely have to revisit its fiscal targets for FY2022-2023 in light of the war in Ukraine and its implications on the global economy, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said.
• The price of unsubsidized bread in the Greater Cairo area has risen by as much as 50% in the course of a week as global wheat prices soar following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with a five-pack of balady loaves now selling for up to EGP 7.50 in Cairo, up from EGP 5.00 last week.
• Qatari dairy firm Baladna has acquired a 5% stake (47.1 mn shares) in leading Egyptian dairy company Juhayna for EGP 285.8 mn.

HAPPENING NOW-

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is in Saudi Arabia for talks with King Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, an Ittihadiya statement read. The leaders are set to discuss bilateral ties, as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest that affect Arab national security, according to the statement.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

A temporary ceasefire to allow civilians in Ukraine to escape the fighting appears to be (kind of) holding up, with buses carrying residents in the northeastern city of Sumy safely making it out, Ukraine confirmed. Earlier in the day, Ukraine accused Russia of shelling the humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed intelligence reports indicate that Russia “has escalated its bombardment of major Ukrainian cities” and is relying more on long-range weapons as its troops struggle to capture the capital city of Kyiv, according to the Financial Times.

Russia and Belarus could be facing yet another round of sanctions from the EU that would target oligarchs and politicians in Russia and three Belarusian banks, Reuters reports, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter. The sanctions, which EU ambassadors are due to begin discussing at 4pm CLT, would also suspend exports of naval equipment and software from the EU to Russia “and provide guidance on the monitoring of cryptocurrencies to avoid their use to circumvent EU sanctions.”

FOR TOMORROW-

The annual Cairo International Fair kicks off tomorrow and runs until Friday, 18 March.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will be in town for two days this week starting Thursday. Sherman will meet with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and “other senior officials,” including National Council for Human Rights chief Moushira Khattab.

Contemporary art and culture center Darb1718 is hosting its 3031 Art Festival until this Saturday, 12 March on its premises in Fustat, Old Cairo.

Other news triggers to keep your eye on over the next few weeks:

• Inflation: Inflation figures for February will be released on Thursday, 10 March.
• Interest rates: The Central Bank of Egypt will hold its next monetary policy meeting on Thursday, 24 March.

The Ahlan Ramadan supermarket expo will take place from 24 March to 1 April at the Cairo International Convention Center.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- It’ll be mostly sunny tomorrow with a daytime high of 24°C and a nighttime low of 11°C, our favorite weather app tells us.