KEY THEMES
U.S. equity futures gained, while Asian stocks were mixed in thin trading. Meanwhile, shares of Chinese Evergrande Group were suspended in Hong Kong. Major markets are still on holidays, including Australia, Japan, and China. Oil is having a good first day in 2022, with Brent oil prices trading above the USD78/bbl mark.
Here at home, the two main market indices ended the day on a mixed note. EGX 30 slipped towards the end of yesterday’s session, dragged by profit-taking activities on Abu Qir Fertilizers [ABUK] and Misr Fertilizer Production Co. [MFPC]. On the other hand, EGX 70 EWI had a successful first day in 2022, after quite a sloppy run in Q4 2021.
On the corporate news side, Delta Sugar [SUGR] announced yesterday that the new price for subsidized sugar did not impact SUGR’s selling prices yet. We note that SUGR sells a huge chunk of its output to the Holding Co. for Food Industries through contracts. Accordingly, the impact of hiking subsidized sugar prices will be felt once a new contract is made. Elsewhere, Housing & Development Bank’s [HDBK] BoD held on 30 December 2021 agreed to alter the source for the bank’s planned capital increase to be more through its general reserves, gearing up for meeting the new at EGP5bn minimum paid-in capital requirements set by the new banking law. We should expect a number of banks to follow suit.