Markets Egypt’s blue-chip stock index trading at near 6-year lows By Reuters July 7, 2022 Creative Commons The index is down 27.44 percent so far this year, having tumbled 3.6 percent to 8,642 on Monday, its lowest since November 2016 Egypt’s blue-chip index hit a new near six-year low on Wednesday before recovering slightly in later trading, a day before the release of June inflation data. The index is down 27.44 percent so far this year, having tumbled 3.6 percent to 8,642 on Monday, its lowest since November 2016. In morning trading on Wednesday the index dipped 0.44 percent to 8,619 points, dragged down mostly by banking stocks. Later in the session it recovered to end up 0.15 percent at 8,670 points. Analysts have blamed price rises, hikes to interest rates, and fears over the global economic outlook for the stock market losses. Egypt has come under financial pressure because of a sharp slide in foreign portfolio investor holdings and rising costs for key commodity imports, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Headline inflation accelerated to 13.5 percent in May. “This is because of a lot of challenges varying from hard currency tightness and investment outflows in addition to the Fed’s rate hikes, so there has been continuous selling in the latest period,” said financial markets analyst and former Egyptian Exchange board member Ehab Said. “The normal trend is down unless something new emerges,” he added. On the EGX30 on Wednesday Credit Agricole Egypt and Cleopatra Hospital Company fell the most, dropping 4.55 percent and 4.09 percent respectively, followed by E-finance, which ended down 3.45 percent. Top gainers were GB Auto, El Sewedy Electric and EFG Hermes, up 9.96 percent, 6.44 percent and 3.99 percent respectively.
