Staff at Egypt's stock exchange market (Photo: AP)
Egypt's main stock index, the EGX30 fell 1.46 percent to 8,211 points and the broader EGX70 slid 0.74 percent.
Comments made by Egypt’s presidential frontrunner Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi about his economic plan for the country may have contributed to the slump, according to Issa Fathy, vice president of the securities division at Cairo's Chamber of Commerce.
“Some of El-Sisi’s statements about controlling inflation frightened investors with the prospect of government intervention,” Fathy told Ahram Online.
In the second part of his first ever televised interview aired on Monday night, the popular former military leader spoke of installing "parallel mechanisms" to control prices if the private sector wasn't capable of doing it alone, and of urging the private sector to shrink its profit margin.
Egypt has seen inflation fluctuate sharply for the past three years. Most recently, annual inflation eased in April to 9.1 percent, but monthly inflation increased 0.6 percent in the same month.
Non-Arab foreign investors, who accounted for some 22 percent of market activity, were net-sellers to the tune of LE208.6 million in Thursday's session.
Egyptian investors were the main net-buyers, for LE145.8 million, followed by Arab investors for LE62.8 million.
The majority of shares in the benchmark EGX30 index were in the red, though real estate share Six of October for Development and Investment (SODIC), which saw its share price plummet on Wednesday with the execution of a cross, was up 0.58 percent on Thursday to trade at LE24.35.
The rest of the sector was down, as Palm Hills Development Company saw its share price drop 1.17 percent to LE4.22 and TMG Holding’s share shed 1.56 percent to trade at LE8.81.
Market bellwether Commercial International Bank (CIB) slid 1.36 percent to trade at LE37.03 a share.
Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding fell 3.08 percent to trade at 1.26 percent, Global Telecom Holding dropped 1.70 percent to LE5.21, and Telecom Egypt slid 1.57 percent to LE14.44.
Daily turnover reached LE804 million.
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