Better-than-expected retail earnings in the US yesterday kept the stock rally going even as tech stocks faced selling pressure on concerns about slowing growth and rising interest rates. The S&P 500 closed 0.2% in the green and the Dow gained 0.7% following a choppy trading session that saw a heavy sell-off in the early afternoon before positive earnings releases from Walmart and Home Depot (pdf) undercut the recent run of gloomy consumer data. Both companies delivered above-estimate earnings and revenue in 2Q, though the former maintained its newly-downgraded full-year profit forecast.

US stocks have been rallying hard over the past two months on signs that US inflation may have peaked and a decline in commodity prices that surged in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Following one of the worst first-halfs in history, the stocks have pulled themselves out of a bear market, with the S&P 500 rallying 17% since late June and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising 23%.

ALSO IN PLANET FINANCE-

• Chip makers dial back investments, sounding alarms over global economy: Some of the world’s biggest chip makers — including TSMC and Samsung — have signaled plans to cut capital expenditure in a worrying sign for the global economy. (Bloomberg)
• The Saudi stock exchange is getting into fintech: The Tadawul’s innovation / tech-focused subsidiary, Wamid, has signed a non-binding agreement to acquire a 51% stake in Saudi fintech Direct Financial for SAR 140.3 mn (USD 37.4 mn) Wamid will now begin the due diligence process on the company after appointing GIB Capital as its financial advisor for the transaction. (Bourse filing)
• Wall Street banks are returning to the Russian bond trade: Wall Street banks including Bank of America, JPMorgan and Citi are lining up to facilitate Russian bond trades after the US Treasury last month said investors could sell their holdings without breaching sanctions. (Reuters | Bloomberg)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.7% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.25 bn (36.2% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is down 17.6% YTD.

In the green: Rameda (+3.4%), Ibnsina Pharma (+2.3%) and Juhayna Food Industries (+1.3%).

In the red: Fawry (-4.6%), Madinet Nasr Housing (-3.6%) and Housing & Development Bank (-1.8%).

Shares in Asia are mostly in the red this morning, though the Nikkei and the Hang Seng are the outliers and seeing modest gains. European equities will see early gains when markets open in a few hours while US shares will open lower, according to stock futures.