Analysts say six Fed rate hikes won’t halt inflation + Kuwait’s stock exchange looks to add new instruments
Will the Fed’s rate hikes be too little, too late? Almost half of economists polled by the Financial Times think the six quarter-point rate hikes expected from the Federal Reserve will likely be too slow to bring inflation in line. Just over 40% of economists said a total 1.5-percentage-point hike in 2022 would be “too little, too late,” in contrast with less than 5% who worried the Fed may move too aggressively to tame inflation, risking a recession. US inflation hit a forty-year high in January, prompting some market-watchers (including leading investment banks) to predict faster and more aggressive tightening from the Fed starting from its March meeting. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not helping matters, the FT reports, saying the potential economic repercussions of war have clouded the economic outlook.
Kuwait’s bourse plans push into derivatives trading in bid to up IPOs: Boursa Kuwait is planning to introduce derivatives products including index and single-stock futures towards the end of 2023, Bloomberg quotes CEO Mohammed Al-Osaimi said. The exchange is also closing in on launching a fixed-income market for corporate bonds and sukuk, and could introduce special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) based on demand, Al-Osaimi said. The moves come as the Gulf country looks to encourage more listings to help boost its IPO pipeline, with debuts expected from some family-owned companies “soon,” followed by government-controlled firms, he added.
Saudi’s PIF could sell its USD 90 bn Aramco stake: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is mulling a full or partial sale of the 4% stake in Saudi Aramco it now holds, among other scenarios it’s looking at to monetize the stake, Bloomberg reports citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter.
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EGX30 |
10,891 |
-3.6% (YTD: -8.9%) |
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USD (CBE) |
Buy 15.66 |
Sell 15.76 |
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USD at CIB |
Buy 15.66 |
Sell 15.76 |
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Interest rates CBE |
8.25% deposit |
9.25% lending |
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Tadawul |
12,298 |
-1.8% (YTD: +9.0%) |
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ADX |
9,123 |
+0.6% (YTD: +7.5%) |
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DFM |
3,312 |
+1.2% (YTD: +3.6%) |
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S&P 500 |
4,385 |
+2.2% (YTD: -8.0%) |
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FTSE 100 |
7,490 |
+4.0% (YTD: +1.4%) |
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Brent crude |
USD 97.93 |
-1.2% |
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Natural gas (Nymex) |
USD 4.47 |
-0.2% |
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Gold |
USD 1,888 |
-2.0% |
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BTC |
USD 39,404 |
+1.2% (as of midnight) |
THE CLOSING BELL-
The EGX30 fell 3.6% at Thursday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.1 bn (7.8% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is down 8.9% YTD.
In the green: Mopco (+1.0%) and Abu Qir Fertilizers (+0.1%).
In the red: Orascom Development Egypt (-10.6%), Heliopolis Housing (-9.3%) and Palm Hills Development (-8.1%).