Market Report: Egypt stocks fall hard on global pressures

Egyptian stocks slumped again on Sunday as bubbling political tensions and widespread strikes combined with global market turmoil to prompt a retreat of local investors.

The benchmark EGX30 fell 2.35 per cent to 4,233 points, deepening the losses of mid-last week and closing at its lowest level since March 2009. All Arab markets took a dip in the week's first session but Egypt's was the worst hit.

"Egypt quickly feels the effect of any global fluctuations," said Ashraf Abdel Aziz, head of institution sales at Arabeya Online Securities. "What happened in the European markets on Thursday caused the sharp dip today."

European stocks tumbled nearly 4 per cent on Thursday on the back of the continent's debt crisis, dragging global equities to a fresh one-year low. They stabilised slightly on Friday, managing to eke out small gains at the same time as US equities recorded their worst weekly loss since the 2008 financial crisis.

From Egypt's 181 listed stocks, 159 lost value and just six gained, with all market sectors either finishing in the red or stagnating. The broader EGX70, which tracks more speculator-friendly mid-range stock, tumbled twice as far, losing 4.89 per cent.

EFF Hermes was the only blue-chip firm left standing, edging up 0.24 per cent as high-caps like Commercial International Bank, Citadel Capital, Orascom Telecom and Oracom Construction fell around it.

The basic resources sector led the decline, falling 4.9 per cent, although lower-cap stocks saw the biggest drops. The General Company For Land Reclamation, Development & Reconstruction and Cairo Development and Investment both lost over 9 per cent.