Egypt’s stocks hit 14-week low as Brexit triggers global uncertainty
Waad Ahmed, , Sunday 26 Jun 2016


Egyptian stocks started the trading week down on Sunday, hitting the lowest level in nearly 14 weeks after Britons voted to leave the European Union in a historic referendum over the weekend that sparked uncertainty on the move's impact on the global economy.

Egypt's benchmark index EGX30 tumbled 5.54 percent to 6,851 points amid daily stock turnover of EGP533 million.

“This is a normal reaction to the main international markets,” Wafik Dawood, Portfolio Manager at Compass Capital, told Ahram Online.

“Most polls expected the UK to remain in the EU and when the opposite occurred, international and regional markets were shocked,” he added.

After the Brexit vote, London's FTSE 100 index closed down 2.8 percent, after recovering from earlier losses. The Frankfurt stock exchange suffered a 6.2 percent blow, while Paris slumped 8.0 percent, with Milan dropping 12.5 percent and Madrid 12.4 percent.

“The results of the Brexit vote caused a shock in international markets, but I expect [them] to recover soon until studies clarify the exact impact on financial markets,” Mahmoud Shaaban, chairman of the Roots Brokerage House, told Ahram Online.

Individuals have more impact on the market than foreign funds because foreign investments in the Egyptian stock market have been few lately due to currency instability, Dawood said.

Egyptian investors, representing 90 percent of investors, were net sellers to the tune of EGP 25.3 million while non-Arab foreigners were net buyers.

Individuals, who represented 56 percent of the trading, were net sellers to the tune of EGP 16 million.

Blue chip Commercial International Bank (CIB), dipped 4.28 percent to EGP 40.69 per share and EFG Hermes, one of Egypt’s leading investment banks, fell 6.55 percent to EGP 10.8 per share.

Egypt's renowned car manufacturer Ghabbour Group saw the sharpest decline in the main index, falling 12.1 percent to EGP 2.2 per share.

Carpet maker Oriental Weavers followed with a 9.77 percent drop to EGP 5.25 per share.

Leading steel manufacturer Ezz Steel lost 8.93 percent of its value to EGP 7.21 per share.

Real estate stocks were also hit with leading developer Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) falling 8.3 percent to EGP 5.02 per share and Palm Hills Development (PHD) dropping 5.98 percent to EGP 2.24.

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