Market Dips Amid Political Volatility

The Egyptian stock market closed in the red, despite analysts' predictions that it was likely to gain throughout this week, with the generally trouble-free referendum vote expected to boost market confidence. Egypt's benchmark EGX30 index tumbled by 0.29 per cent to stand at 5,228 points, while the broader-based EGX70 also declined by 1.2 per cent.

Political turbulence has affected the stock market's performance, as news broke that the Supreme Electoral Commission is looking into electoral violations registered by rights groups during the nationwide referendum voting over the weekend. At the end of Monday’s session, 113 out of 174 traded stocks suffered losses, while only 38 registered gains. Blue-chips Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) and Commercial International Bank (CIB) plunged by 0.05 per cent and 0.59 per cent respectively. Daily turnover stood at LE443 million, slightly below yesterday’s rate but significantly higher than last week's record-low trade volumes.

Foreign investors were the only net buyers in Monday’s session, recording a net flow of LE19 million. Domestic investors and Arabs were net sellers for the day, offloading a total of LE17 million and LE2 million respectively. Analysts have described the political situation this week as stable and "violence-free”; however, the roaming uncertainty around the fate of the constitutional vote may impact the Egyptian market further.

The banking sector continued its decline for the third day in a row, although National Societe General Bank (NSGB) unexpectedly made a slight recovery of 0.92 per cent, after plunging almost 9 per cent by the end of Sunday's session. The real estate sector performed poorly, with Palm Hills Development suffering a 0.43 per cent decrease.