CAIRO: Egyptian shares fell by more than 2 percent on Sunday as they tracked global falls sparked by fears of a credit crisis in the United States housing market.
The Case-30 index of the Cairo and Alexandria Bourse closed the session down 2.59 percent at 7,966 points – the first time it has closed lower than 8,000 points since the start of July.
Market sources attributed the decline to the US home loans crisis, but added that the fall was limited as many players are waiting to take their cue from Western markets which reopen on Monday.
Egyptian shares fell by 4.1 percent over all of last week, and the market is more exposed than the bourses of neighboring Arab states because of the strong presence of international investors.
The Case-30 index has nearly doubled in value over the past four years.
Stocks worldwide have tumbled following concerns in the key US home loans market, leading the European Central Bank to inject 155.85 billion euros ($212.98 billion) into the market to stave off the threat of a so-called credit crunch.
A crunch would make it harder and more expensive for businesses and consumers to get loans and cash.
