“The worst is over” for Turkey’s inflation: Turkey’s annual consumer price inflation rose to 75.5% in May — according to the Turkish Statistical Institute — in what economists expect to be the peak of a years-long cost-of-living crisis before prices start to cool. “The worst is over,” Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on X. “The transition period in the fight against inflation is complete and we are entering the disinflation process,” he added.

In detail: Headline inflation in May — which was up by 5.7 percentage points from a month earlier — was driven primarily by steep annual price rises in education, housing, and restaurants. Monthly inflation climbed to 3.4% in May, up from 3.2% in April.

Despite the jubilant tone, inflation still came in higher than expected: A Reuters poll saw annual inflation peaking at 74.8% in May and monthly inflation registering 2.7-3.3%.

So where is inflation headed from here? Annual inflation will likely drop below 50% by the end of 3Q 2024, hit 33.2% in 12 months, and 21.3% in 24 months, Simsek said. Analysts polled by Reuters expect annual inflation to drop to 42.6% by the end of 2024.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Most Asian markets have started the day in the red, with only Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bucking the trend. There’s no clear trigger for the dip, which sees the Nikkei leading decliners at dispatch time this morning (-0.7%). Futures for major European benchmarks dipped overnight, while Nasdaq, Dow, and S&P 500 futures were largely unchanged.

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI rose 1.6% yesterday on turnover of SAR 7.9 bn. The index is down 1.3% YTD.

In the green: SRMG (+10%), Atheeb Telecom (+7.1%) and Jazira Takaful (+6.9%).

In the red: Spimaco (-3.8%), Astra Industrial (-3.4%) and Acwa Power (-3.1%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC rose 1.7% yesterday on turnover of SAR 47 mn. The index is up 8.3% YTD.

In the green: Academy of Learning (+14.1%), Future Care (+10.7%) and Bena (+5.1%).

In the red: Knowledgenet (-5.7%), Banan (-4.8%) and Pan Gulf (-4.3%)

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

Salama Cooperative Ins. has lined up Ins. Authority approval for a 50% capital hike to SAR 300 mn by way of rights issue to meet the authority’s minimum capital requirements, it said in two separate regulatory filings to Tadawul, here and here.

Shareholders of Budget Saudi will vote on Monday, 23 June, on a capital increase that will help pay for the full acquisition of AutoWorld, according to a disclosure to Tadawul. The BoD had recommended a 9.8% capital increase by way of issuing new shares to finance the company’s takeover of AutoWorld, it said in an earlier filing to the exchange.