Saudi oil giant Aramco is close to taking Apple’s crown as the world’s most valuable company, Bloomberg reports. Aramco briefly hit a record high yesterday, bringing its market cap to USD 2.44 tn, close to Apple’s USD 2.49 tn. The Saudi oil giant has been buoyed by soaring oil prices this year. At the same time, Apple’s shares have sunk amid a heavy tech sell-off in US markets. The company’s shares fell another 3.1% yesterday, leaving it more than 16% in the red year-to-date.

Non-oil business activity in the UAE and Saudi Arabia maintained solid growth in April despite the looming threat of inflationary pressures resulting from rising fuel and material prices:

• The KSA’s PMI dipped to 55.7 in April from 56.8 in March — its lowest reading in three months, but still well above the 50.0 mark that separates expansion from contraction. Output and new orders continued to rise but at their slowest pace since January, as increased costs began to weigh on client demand. (PMI, pdf)
• Increased client demand and a rise in exports continued to propel business activity in the UAE, with the PMI slipping marginally to 54.6 in April from 54.8 in March. Output and new orders continued to rise sharply during the month, but cost pressures remained at their highest levels in three years in light of the rise of materials costs on the back of the Russia-Ukraine war. (PMI, pdf)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 1.8% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.0 bn (12.2% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is down 8.7% YTD.

In the green: Orascom Development Egypt (+5.1%), e-Finance (+4.9%) and Egypt Kuwait Holding-EGP (+1.8%).

In the red: MM Group (-4.7%), CIB (-4.2%) and Madinet Nasr Housing (-4.0%).