Wall Street is bracing itself for a rough earnings season: Companies in the S&P 500 index are forecast to post a 6.8% y-o-y drop in earnings for last quarter — their biggest decline since the outbreak of the covid pandemic in 2Q 2020, the Financial Times reports citing FactSet data. High inflation and weaker demand on fears of recession is likely to dent the performance of most companies. “When you look at the cost of wages and the cost of capital I think margins are coming under a fair amount of pressure,” Cresset Capital CIO Jack Ablin told the FT.

Banking woes may not show up on 1Q balance sheets: Financial firms are expected to post the highest revenue growth of any sector at 9.1%, despite the collapse of several US banks during the quarter. “Since recent bank failures happened in the last few weeks of the quarter, the full impact won’t register in first quarter reports,” Goldman Sachs wrote in a note. Big firms across all sectors are better positioned to insulate themselves from the recent banking volatility, which small- and medium-sized businesses will likely suffer thanks to reduced access to credit.

Up first: Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co will kick off 1Q earnings season on Friday.

Redrawn global energy routes are less efficient, more expensive: The EU’s curbs on Russian petroleum products are forcing global fuel tankers to take longer routes, increasing carbon emissions and more than doubling average freight rates, Reuters reports. To make up for lost business in Europe, Russia is sending its fuel cargoes to “far-flung buyers” in Morocco, Brazil, Turkey, and Nigeria, while Europe is resorting to the US, Middle East, and Asia for petroleum imports. The longer, more expensive routes could further fuel global inflation and release mns of tons more CO2 into the atmosphere, analysts say.

Careem spins out its super app: UAE telecoms provider e& will acquire a 50.03% stake in Careem’s super app for USD 400 mn as the Uber-owned firm spins the app out of its core business. (Statement | Bloomberg | CNBC)

EGX30

16,775

+0.6% (YTD: +14.9%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 30.84

Sell 30.94

USD at CIB

Buy 30.85

Sell 30.95

Interest rates CBE

18.25% deposit

19.25% lending

Tadawul

10,905

-0.6% (YTD: +4.1%)

ADX

9,499

+0.4% (YTD: -7.0%)

DFM

3,412

+0.0% (YTD: +2.3%)

S&P 500

4,109

+0.1% (YTD: +7.0%)

FTSE 100

7,742

+1.0% (YTD: +3.9%)

Euro Stoxx 50

4,309

+0.3% (YTD: +13.6%)

Brent crude

USD 84.18

-1.1%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.18

+0.5%

Gold

USD 2,006

+0.1%

BTC

USD 29,632

+4.1% (YTD: +76.5%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 0.6% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.57 bn. Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 14.9% YTD.

In the green: Qalaa Holdings (+5.8%), Elsewedy Electric (+5.3%) and Palm Hills Development (+5.3%).

In the red: Rameda Pharma (-2.2%), Ezz Steel (-1.8%) and Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (-1.6%).

It’s green screens so far this morning: Asian markets are almost all up in early trading, and futures suggest both Wall Street and major European indices will open higher later on in the day.

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