(Photo from Military Spokesman Facebook Page)
The EGX30 index fell 1.69% on Wednesday following Minister of Defence Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi’s call for mass Friday demonstrations.
The benchmark index closed at 5,359.57 points, down from 5,451.72 on Monday, after Sisi asked for a popular mandate for the army to “confront violence and terrorism.”
Islam Abu El-Fetouh, an investor at the stock exchange, said the market had been generally unstable all day, but had slid slightly after Al-Sisi’s speech.
“There was a decline after Al-Sisi gave his speech, but I believe this is a normal decline because the stock market has been flourishing for a week,” Abu El-Fetouh said.
Head of research at EFG Hermes Wael Zeyada stressed that after any successful period, the market becomes more vulnerable to news, “even if the news is non-economic” in nature.
When asked about the impact of possible violence, Abu El-Fetouh said: “The stock market will definitely deteriorate, but I personally believe it will pick up again shortly afterwards.”
