Bearish sentiment on emerging-market currencies is lifting as traders u-turn on assumptions that the asset class will be hit when the Federal Reserve starts to hike rates later this year, Bloomberg reports. The MSCI index of EM currencies hit a four-month high last week as rate hikes in developing economies provide a buffer against rising US treasury yields. Morgan Stanley strategists have called the bottom to EM currencies, while Citigroup has dialed back bearish bets on the asset class.

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is planning a buying spree in the equity markets this year, investing around USD 10 bn in public companies as it tries to more than double its assets by the middle of the decade, Bloomberg reports. The Public Investment Fund holds some USD 500 bn in assets. It aggressively bought the dip at the pandemic’s outset, using some USD 40 bn from the country’s reserves to buy shares in companies including Citigroup, Facebook and cruise company Carnival.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 0.5% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 937 mn (22.5% below the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 0.9% YTD.

In the green: AMOC (+5.4%), Telecom Egypt (+2.8%) and Rameda (+2.4%).

In the red: Speed Medical (-2.9%), Heliopolis Housing (-2.7%) and Fawry (-2.5%).