A relief rally for risk assets — but does it have legs?

Isthe “everything rally” a lasting bull market or a flash in the pan?Investors rushed into stocks, bonds, gold, and crypto assets in December as markets were flooded with bets that the Federal Reserve could start lowering interest rates. But Wall Street is divided over whether the “everything rally” represents a bull market or just a “fleeting sugar high” from the end of the tightening cycle, writes the Wall Street Journal.

Analysts agree that the tightening cycle is over — but when will it pivot?Economists don’t expect the Fed to start cutting rates until at least July 2024, with the majority of participants forecasting a rate trim of only half a percentage point of less in 2024, from its current 22-year high of 5.25-5.5%, a recent Financial Times poll showed.

IN GLOBAL MARKETS- India has overtaken Hong Kong to become the world’s seventh-largest stock market by market capitalization as “optimism grows” about the country’s economy, CNBC reports.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 was flat at yesterday’s closeon turnover of EGP 3.7 bn (18.9% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net sellers. The index is up 65.7% YTD.

In the green: Fawry (+3.1%), Heliopolis Housing (+3.0%) and CIRA Education (+2.7%).

In the red: Elsewedy Electric (-3.8%), Orascom Development Egypt (-3.7%) and Oriental Weavers (-3.7%).

Asian shares are having a good morning, with most benchmarks in the green (or nearly there) at dispatch time. Futures suggest US and European markets will open in the green later today, and there’s still a chance shares in Toronto could follow suit.