Egypt’s stocks start week in dark red amid broad selloff

Egyptian stocks slumped on Sunday, with the benchmark EGX30 index falling 2.63% to 50,896.19, its lowest daily level since 1 July, as regional geopolitical tensions and heavy selling by foreign investors and financial institutions weighed on sentiment.

The EGX30, which tracks the market’s largest and most actively traded companies, closed at 50,896.19 points. The EGX33 Shariah index dropped 3.82% to 6,135.46, while the EGX35-LV index fell 5.02% to 5,932.53.

Selling was sharper among small- and mid-cap stocks. The EGX70 index slid 6.58% to 17,265.74 points, while the broader EGX100 declined 5.75% to 23,193.58. Market capitalization stood at EGP3.892 trillion.

Non-Arab foreign investors recorded net sales of 5.562 billion Egyptian pounds, while Egyptian investors were net buyers of 5.121 billion pounds and Arab investors purchased a net 440.522 million pounds.

Regional geopolitical tensions have weighed on market sentiment, Hanan Ramses, a board member of El-Horreya Brokerage, said, pointing to selling by foreign investors and financial institutions and selective buying by Egyptian and Arab individuals.

Trading liquidity was insufficient to support the market, while domestic institutions increased selling rather than stepping in to buy, Ramses said.

The selloff came amid heightened regional uncertainty and reports concerning possible Egyptian assistance to Saudi Arabia. The extent to which those developments contributed to Sunday’s decline could not be independently established.

Ramses said continued tensions could push the EGX30 towards the 50,000-point level or below, adding that the market had yet to establish a clear bottom. She identified resistance at 52,200 points and said a clear support zone had not emerged.

For the EGX70, Ramses cited resistance at 18,500 points and warned against possible further declines. She said a sustained recovery would require higher trading volumes, renewed institutional buying and an easing of regional tensions, alongside positive earnings news from listed companies.

Any rebound under current conditions could reflect investors adjusting existing positions rather than establishing new ones, she said.

Egypt’s market moved in the opposite direction to Saudi Arabia’s, which rose about 1% during the session, Ramses added.