Egyptian Exchange’s benchmark index EGX-30 suffered a loss for the seventh consecutive trading day, dropping by 0.64% to reach 6480.65 points.
Unlike the previous trading day, the day started with EGX-30 on the rise but ended with the aforementioned loss.
The broader index EGX-100 inched down by 0.05% while EGX-70, which encompasses small and medium-sized enterprises, surged by 0.33%.
The trading day closed with 76 gainers, 44 decliners and 37 unchanged. Unlike the preceding day, Egyptians were buying while foreigners and Arabs were selling. Institutions were more inclined to buy, while individuals opted to sell stocks.
On Sunday, the EGX-30 went down by 4.18% and the capital market shed some EGP 7.3bn.
The domestic situation and economic uncertainty accompanying the global terrorist attacks have contributed to the current drop in the stock market, former EGX vice president Mohamed Farid noted.
“We are in a volatile period,” Farid said. “At some point investors will stop and think [about buying].”
A series of attacks by gunmen and bombers took place on Friday across the French capital of Paris and resulted in the death of at least 120. The attacks targeted restaurants, a concert hall and a sports stadium where President Francois Hollande was attending a match.
Moreover, on 7 November, Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) surprised the banking market by issuing savings certificates with a return rate of 12.5% annually, which is the highest return granted on savings in pounds in the Egyptian market.
Reflecting on the interest rate offered by the banks, the market lost. Islam Abdel Atty, board member of Eg-Finance, said, however, the drop was not “violent”.
“Whenever the interest rate goes up, the stock market will almost immediately decline,” he said, noting that such behaviour is natural.
