Egypt stocks plunge as EgyptAir plane confirmed wreckage
Egypt’s bourse ended lower on Thursday after an EgyptAir plane went missing, causing investors to panic.
Main index plunged 1.80 percent, to 7499.49 points.
“The plane accident had a negative impact on the market after it had rebounded from earlier losses mid week,” Wael Enaba, board member at the Egyptian Association for Securities, told Ahram Online.
An EgyptAir flight disappeared earlier on Thursday en route from Paris to Cairo. The plane’s debris was later found south of the Greek island of Karpathos in the southern Mediterranean.
The possibility of the incident being a terrorist attack raised fears over the possible impact on tourism and ultimately the economy, similar to when the Russian plane was downed last year, said Enaba.
The downing of a Russian plane in October had caused tourism, a main source of foreign currency, to drop, prompting a downward trend for Egypt’s growth.
The drop in the main index “was driven mainly by uncalled for panic by investors, but also others who were making profits from the last few sessions’ gains,” market expert Moustafa Badra told Ahram Online earlier on Thursday.
Other indices; EGX50 EWI index lost 1.50 percent, to 1380.76 points; while EGX20 inched down 1.60 percent, to 7553.51 points.
Mid- and small-cap index EGX70 dropped 0.31 percent, to 366.13 points. Price index, EGX100 fell 0.64 percent, to 771.85 points.
Market Caps
Market capitalisation incurred losses worth 3.3 billion Egyptian pounds ($371.6 million), to record 404.071 billion pounds during the closing session of Thursday.
Turnovers lower
The bourse’s trading volume hit 197.987 million securities, with turnovers, closing at 555.617 pounds, exchanged through 18,960 transactions.
Also during the closing session, 169 listed securities have been traded in, 116 declined, 23 advanced; while 29 kept their previous levels.
Investors’ Activities
Non-Arab foreign investors were net sellers capturing 20.76 percent of the total market, with a net equity of 35.344 million pounds, excluding the deals.
On the contrary, local and Arab foreign investors were net buyers controlling 73.14 and 6.1 percent respectively of the total markets, with a net equity of 19.807 million pounds and 15.536 million pounds, respectively, excluding the deals.
