Faster rate hikes not guaranteed, Powell says: That was the message from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on the second day of his congressional testimony yesterday, clarifying remarks made the day before that the central bank could pick up the pace with its monetary tightening following a spate of strong economic data. “If -— and I stress that no decision has been made on this — but if the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes,” he told the House Financial Services Committee yesterday. Reuters and the Wall Street Journal have more.

Market watchers now think the Fed could raise its key rate by 50 bps at its next meeting in two weeks time, after Powell this week suggested that the central bank could need to hike interest rates further and faster than previously expected on the back of strong February economic data.

MEANWHILE- A key recession signal hits more than 40-year peak in the US: Short-term yields have risen above longer-term ones to push the US Treasury yield curve into its deepest inversion in over 40 years — traditionally a key indicator of recession, says Reuters. Shorter-dated yields have soared to reach their highest rates since mid-2007 while long-term yields fell on the back of Powell’s hawkish comments, an indication that investors are expecting future interest rate hikes to hurt the economy and result in an eventual easing of monetary policy.

REGIONAL IPO WATCH-

• Abraj Energy Services completes Oman’s largest IPO in a decade: The oil-drilling arm of Oman’s state energy company raised USD 244 mn in an IPO that was 8x oversubscribed. Trading is set to start on 14 March. (Bloomberg)
• MENA’s biggest alternative asset manager considering Abu Dhabi IPO: Bahrain’s Investcorp Holdings is in early preparations to list an investment vehicle in Abu Dhabi as soon as this year, in what would be the first IPO of its kind in the region. Other venues are also being considered for the listing. First Abu Dhabi Bank, Emirates NBD, Goldman Sachs, and Moelis & Co are working on the offering. (Bloomberg)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.7% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.6 bn (21.9% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 11.8% YTD.

In the green: Telecom Egypt (+4.8%), CIB (+1.9%) and Madinet Nasr for Housing and Development (+0.9%).

In the red: Eastern Company (-10.9%), CIRA Education (-5.4%) and Ibnsina Pharma (-4.8%).