The European Central Bank might accelerate the pace of its emergency bond purchases above EUR 20 bn per week in its monetary policy meeting this Thursday, in a bid to push back against recent spike in bond yields that threaten growth prospects in the eurozone, the Financial Times reported. Concerns about inflation and a tapering of monetary stimulus has sparked a sell-off in the US bond market in recent weeks, fueling expectations that policymakers may resort to more quantitative easing in a bid to hold down interest rates. Rates on the benchmark 10-year treasury reached 1.62% Friday — the highest since February 2020 — before pulling back.

EGX30

11,459

+0.9% (YTD: +5.7%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 15.68

Sell 15.78

USD at CIB

Buy 15.68

Sell 15.78

Interest rates CBE

8.25% deposit

9.25% lending

Tadawul

9,374

+0.3% (YTD: +7.9%)

ADX

5,685

-0.1% (YTD: +12.7%)

DFM

2,540

-0.2% (YTD: +1.9%)

S&P 500

3,821

-0.5% (YTD: +1.7%)

FTSE 100

6,719

+1.3% (YTD: +4.0%)

Brent crude

USD 68.66

+0.6%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.66

-0.3%

Gold

USD 1,681.60

+0.2%

BTC

USD 53,400.83

+4.2%

The EGX30 fell 0.9% yesterday on turnover of EGP 1.33 bn (9.8% below the 90-day average). Regional investors were net buyers. The index is up 5.7% YTD.

In the green: AMOC (+3.2%), MM Group (+1.6%) and Orascom Financial (+1.3%).

In the red: Pioneers (-4.3%), GB Auto (-2.7%) and TMG (-2.4%).

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