Bond sale may boost Egypt, Gulf has few catalysts
A better-than-expected result for Egypt in its international bond sale may boost its stock market on Wednesday, while there are few fresh factors to move equities in the Gulf.
Egypt was set to sell $4 billion of Eurobonds in three tranches, raising twice as much as targeted when it began a roadshow last week, and at lower yields than initially expected, bankers involved in the deal said late on Tuesday.
That is a vote of confidence from foreign investors in the country and confirmation that it has access to international capital markets again, somewhat similar to Saudi Arabia’s success with its debut international sovereign bond last October, which helped to fuel a stock market rally.
With Saudi Arabia’s earnings season essentially finished and little corporate news from the rest of the Gulf, those markets do not have much to trade on, although Saudi Arabia and Kuwait continue to have near-term upward momentum amid high trading volumes.