US markets claw back losses at the end of an extremely volatile week: The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones rallied on Friday to break their three-week losing streaks, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 3.1%, erasing its losses for the week. A 7% rally in Apple shares on the back of a record earnings report had traders hailing the company as the markets’ savior, the Wall Street Journal reports. But it’s not over yet — expect more turbulence as earnings season rolls on and investors continue to closely track the macro picture — in particular rising inflation and the US Federal Reserve’s plans for dealing with it through a series of rate hikes starting in March.

Qatar is in early talks with international banks to issue its first sovereign green bond, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources who say the country could “potentially raise bns” through the climate-linked securities. The newswire notes that the move could prove controversial given that Qatar’s gas exports make it one of the world’s largest CO2 emitters on a per capita basis.

Lebanon signed agreements on Wednesday to buy up to 250 MW a day of electricity from Jordan via Syria to ease its severe energy crisis, the Associated Press reports. Negotiations to secure World Bank financing for the agreement are underway and expected to conclude within two months, said Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayyad.

Lebanon is also due to start importing Egyptian natural gas in the coming months via the Arab Gas pipeline that runs through Jordan and Syria, which is being renovated for the plan.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.4% on Wednesday on turnover of EGP 628 mn (44.5% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is down 3.8% YTD.

In the green: Madinet Nasr Housing (+3.0%), Pioneers Properties (+2.5%) and Egypt Kuwait Holding-EGP (+2.4%).

In the red: MM Group (-5.6%), Orascom Development Egypt (-4.8%) and Fawry (-3.1%).