Stocks rally ahead of Fed meeting: US stocks staged a comeback in yesterday’s session as oil prices continued to fall and weak data from a key manufacturing survey calmed concerns that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates aggressively, according to Bloomberg. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended three straight days of losses to climb 3.2% while the S&P 500 rose 2.1%.

Oil continued to plunge on signs that a nuclear agreement with Iran might still be in the cards and uncertainty over how a new wave of covid lockdowns in China might affect demand. Brent crude ended the day below USD 100 for the first time since 25 February, falling almost 8% to USD 98.60 a barrel. The benchmark has now plunged 24% since spiking to USD 130 last week.

Also worth noting:

• Dubai will kick off its plan to list up to 10 state firms by selling a 6.5% stake in the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), according to a press release (pdf), which didn’t disclose the sum the listing aims to raise. Both the retail and institutional offerings are set to open on 24 March. EFG Hermes, Credit Suisse, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Goldman Sachs are acting as joint bookrunners.
• Qatar has begun operations at the USD 10 bn Barzan natgas plant. The plant is set to process nearly 1.4 bn cubic feet of gas daily, to help meet growing energy demand ahead of this year’s FIFA World Cup in Doha. (Bloomberg | CNBC Arabia)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose less than 0.1% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 991 mn (7.4% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is down 12.8% YTD.

In the green: Mopco (+8.5%), Abu Qir Fertilizers (+6.1%) and Fawry (+3.3%).

In the red: CIRA (-4.2%), Rameda (-4.2%) and Ibnsina Pharma (-3.9%).

This morning in Asia: Chinese shares are in the green this morning after suffering their worst sell-off since 2008 this week, while the Nikkei and the Kospi are also seeing gains. Stock futures indicate that shares in the US will open in the red. European indexes are on course to rise when the markets open.