The USD comeback: The USD is up some 3% against a basket of six other major currencies so far this month — erasing January losses, the Financial Times writes. The currency had shed more than 11% between October and January from a 20-year high in September, as cooling inflation data out of the US gave the Federal Reserve breathing room to slow its tightening cycle. New figures suggesting growth remains strong in the US are now reversing that trend, with Fed officials now hinting they could once again slam on the brakes with a 50-bps interest rate hike in March.

A flash in the pan? Some investors are expecting the currency to continue rising this quarter before resuming its “downward trajectory as global growth and risk sentiment improve,” UBS analysts said.

Investment-grade corporate bonds are all the rage: Investors have poured a record USD 19 bn into funds that invest in investment-grade corporate debt since the beginning of the year, as yields rocket on the safe haven assets, the Financial Times writes, citing data from fund flow tracker EPFR. Fixed-income yields have risen across the board after monetary tightening from the Federal Reserve caused a historic selloff in the global bond market last year — meaning investment-grade bonds are now offering a golden combination of high returns and low risk. “People basically think that fixed income in general looks a lot more attractive than it has in prior years,” one strategist said.

	EGX30	17,327	-0.9% (YTD: +18.7%)
	USD (CBE)	Buy 30.53	Sell 30.62
	USD at CIB	Buy 30.52	Sell 30.62
	Interest rates CBE	16.25% deposit	17.25% lending
	Tadawul	10,493	-0.5% (YTD: +0.1%)
	ADX	9,977	+0.2% (YTD: -2.3%)
	DFM	3,458	-0.3% (YTD: +3.7%)
	S&P 500	4,079	-0.3% (YTD: +6.2%)
	FTSE 100	8,004	-0.1% (YTD: +7.4%)
	Euro Stoxx 50	4,275	-0.5% (YTD: +12.7%)
	Brent crude	USD 83.00	-2.5%
	Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.28	-4.8%
	Gold	USD 1,850.20	-0.1%
	BTC	USD 24,534	-0.4% (YTD: +48.5%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.9% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.51 bn (22.5% below the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 18.9% YTD.

In the green: Orascom Construction (+0.4%),CIB (+0.2%) and CIRA Education (+0.1%).

In the red: Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (-4.8%), Edita Food Industries (-3.8%) and Juhayna (-3.5%).

Asian markets are mixed on the first day of trading this week: Chinese shares are comfortably in the green while the Kospi and the Nikkei are treading water. US shares are on course to fall when Wall Street opens this afternoon while European shares could see early gains.