Egyptian shares fall sharply during global sell-off

Ahmed A. Namatalla
2 Min Read

CAIRO: The Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (Case) 30 Index declined by 253 points Wednesday, one day after global markets plunged beginning with the Shanghai Composite Index’s 8.8 percent drop on Tuesday.

The Case 30 Index closed at 7165, down 3.4 percent with cement and steel stocks among the hardest hit on Tuesday’s Ministry of Foreign Trade announcement of an export duty to be implemented in both sectors. This is a continuation of what was happening yesterday to emerging markets around the world, said Yasser Hassanein of Dynamic Securities told Reuters.

Globally, the Russian Trading System Stock Exchange lost 3.3 percent, the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index dropped 1.3 percent and London’s FTSE 100 Index shed 2.3 percent.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 3.3 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively, in the largest single-session drop for both indices since Sept. 11, 2001. Still, the Dow Jones later attributed its decline to a computer glitch.

Beltone Financial Head of Research Angus Blair said the market’s decline was caused by a combination of local developments, especially the government’s export duty announcement, and declines in other global markets.

“The Case is well incorporated in the global market, Blair said. “Investors began selling [on Tuesday] when they saw trends taking place in other parts of the world.

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