(AFP Photo)
By Sara Aggour and Doaa Farid
The ongoing US-Syrian friction has reflected on the local stock market, resulting in a steep 2.04% drop in Egypt’s benchmark index, the EGX 30, to reach 5337.65, on 27 August.
The benchmark index’s 111.34 point plummet is the biggest drop the market has witnessed since the 214.64 point decline, a 3.867% fall, which followed the violent dispersal of the pro-Mohamed Morsi sit-ins near Rabaa Al-Adaweya Mosque and in Al-Nahda Square.
“The decline the Egyptian stock market witnessed was not a result of any ongoing events in Egypt but rather due to the circulating news about the military intervention in Syria,” said Mohamed Saed, financial analyst at HC Securities and Investment company.
“This decline was notable in all Arabian stock markets and not just Egypt,” Saed added.
The EGX 70 Index, encompassing small and medium sized companies, declined 2.3% to close at 443.67, compared to 454.10 points on the preceding day while the broader EGX100 depreciated 2.12%, closing at 751.63 points, compared to Monday’s 767.90 points.
The trading day closed with 13 gainers, 141 decliners and 20 others unchanged.
US stocks also sank after Secretary of State John Kerry warned that the United States would demand “accountability” after an “obscene” chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians, AFP reported.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty said Egypt is not in favour of the military option in Syria, adding: “We are pursuing a political option. Egypt will not be part of any military action.”
