Egypt stock market pares early losses as bargain hunters step in

Egypt’s benchmark stock index has pared early losses as investors stepped in after three days of heavy selling linked to worries about the escalating protests and violence that have ravaged the capital.

The Egyptian Exchange’s EGX30 index dropped more than 1.8 percent early in Wednesday’s session, but rebounded to a 0.12 percent decline by 11:30 a.m., at 3,672 points. It had shed almost 4.8 percent the day before as protesters flooded into Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square, demanding that the country’s military rulers shift power to a civilian government.

The protests came days before parliamentary elections are due to start on Monday — the first since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in mid-February — and raised questions about the country’s political stability.