Stable EGX trading expected after holidays supported by stamp duty cut

Alyaa Stohy
2 Min Read
A general view of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) in Cairo August 18, 2013. Egypt's stock market fell sharply on Sunday as it resumed trading after hundreds of people were killed in a crackdown by the army-backed government on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood. Banks and the stock market reopened for the first time since Wednesday's carnage, with shares rapidly falling 2.5 percent. REUTERS/Louafi Larbi (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS)

The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) closed trading last week, with the benchmark index EGX30 reporting in at almost 10,600 points. It reflects a key resistance area that the index has tried to breach more than once, but has so far been unable to do so due to poor liquidity and bullish momentum.

Trade sessions last week, also the final week of July, were limited to only four due to the run-up to the Eid Al-Adha holiday.

Muhammad Al-Aasar, Head of the Technical Analysis Department at Aman Securities, expects that the stock market transactions during the current week’s sessions will be calmer and more positive.

He added that they will also be coherent, especially with the stability of political conditions in general. This is in addition to the actual application of the 5% stamp duty cut on EGX trading, instead of 1.5%.

The abolition of the tax completely for purchases in the same session will be applied after the Eid Al-Adha holiday (starting Tuesday), which is projected to have a positive effect on general performance. It is expected that it will increase trading volumes and thus raise EGX indices.

Al-Aasar anticipates that the EGX30 will resume its attempts to breach the 10,600 points resistance level. He noted that quiet trading volumes may, however, threaten the index’s ability to penetrate this during this week’s sessions.

On 29 July, the EGX30 closed at 10,599.46 points, recording a decline of 1.53%, whilst the EGX70 EWI posted 5.81% gain concluding the period at 1,535.61 points. In the meantime, S&P index rose by 1.98% and calculated the period at 1,569.29 points.

Total market capitalisation reached EGP 585.5bn at end of July, representing a decrease of 0.76% over the period. The EGX turnover recorded EGP 40bn on 8,318m securities through over 738,000 transactions last month.

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