EGX closes in red with new IMF deal on deck

Egypt’s stock exchange (EGX) closed in red notes on Wednesday, few hours ahead of signing a new loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The North African country will sign a new loan programme agreement with the IMF in the next few hours, an official source with knowledge told Amwal Al Ghad English earlier.

The IMF deal will follow the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) latest decisions earlier the day, hiking key interest rates by 6 per cent, letting the pound trade freely, and lifting restrictions on the use of credit cards for transactions in foreign currencies.

Main index, EGX30 slid by 3.02 per cent, to 29,743.11 points. Small to mid-sized enterprises’ index, EGX70 inched down by 3.40 per cent, to 7,202.06 points. Price index, EGX100 index fell by 3.39 per cent, to 10,177.68 points.

The total market cap reached 2,031,704,887,783 Egyptian pounds.

Egyptians’ transactions went towards mainly selling with a total of 1,626,061,109 Egyptian pounds. Meanwhile, the Arabs and non-Arabs foreigners were net buyers with 186,492,739 Egyptian pounds, and 1,439,568,370 Egyptian pounds, respectively.

Top gainers on Wednesday

The shares of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank- Egypt (ADIB.CA) climbed by 12.12 per cent, to close at 50.990 Egyptian pounds a share.

The shares of El Kahera El Watania Investment (KWIN.CA) surged by 10.67 per cent reaching 22.510 Egyptian pounds per share.

The shares of Egyptian Gulf Marseilia for Real Estate Investment (MAAL.CA) inched up by 8.37 per cent, trading at 2.460 Egyptian pounds a share.

Top losers on Wednesday

The shares of Arabian Cement Company (ARCC.CA) plunged by 14.79 per cent, to close at 13.540 Egyptian pounds a share.

The shares of Six of October Development & Investment (SODIC) (OCDI.CA) sank by 13.36 per cent, trading at 51.550 Egyptian pounds a share.

The shares of Alexandria Flour Mills (AFMC.CA) dived by 12.58 per cent, to the purchasing price of 27.450 Egyptian pounds a share.