Eurozone business activity grew at its fastest pace in 15 years in June thanks to reopening measures and pent-up demand that boosted activity in both services and manufacturing, according to the preliminary IHS Markit PMI survey. The flash composite index for the bloc jumped to 59.2 in June compared to 57.1 in May. But higher covid-19 infections driven by the delta variant as well as labor market shortages mean economic uncertainty is likely to remain for some time, IHS Markit’s chief business economist told CNBC.

The ultra-optimistic PMI wasn’t enough to boost shares yesterday: Investor concern about inflation overrode the impressive figures, leaving European shares down 0.7% at the end of the session, Reuters says.

Autonomous trucking startup Embark is going public via a USD 5.2 bn SPAC: The San Francisco-based firm plans to list shares in a merger with Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. II that may raise USD 614 mn in proceeds, including USD 200 mn in investment from Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global, to help meet a goal of commercializing its service by 2024, according to a press release.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 0.7% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.63 bn (22.5% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is down 5.3% YTD.

In the green: AMOC (+4.3%), Ezz Steel (+3.3%) and Abou Kir Fertilizers (+3.0%).

In the red: Orascom Investment Holding (-3.4%), MM Group (-1.9%) and Medinet Nasr Holding (-1.4%).

Asian markets are mixed in early trading this morning and futures suggest that shares in Europe and the US will open in the green later today.