Egypt stocks start week higher following region-wide upward trend
The Egyptian stock exchange’s main indices rallied Sunday, the first trading session of the week as rising oil prices pushed Egypt and Gulf markets up.
Market capitalisation recorded 386.328 billion Egyptian pounds during the closing session of Sunday.
The benchmark index EGX30 rose 3.15 percent to reach 5,893 points, up from 5,713 at the beginning of trading. Trading kicked off with a strong performance, with EGX30 jumping 3.7 percent in just the first five minutes of trading today.
The index for medium and small enterprises EGX70 and the broader EGX100 also edged up today 2.29 and 1.88 per cent, respectively.
Mohamed Elnagar, the head of research and investment at El Marwa Brokerage said Egypt’s rally today is not a sign of a “real recovery” since pressures on foreign institution to sell are still strong.
Elnagar says a recovery of Egypt’s market is pending on the direction that oil prices take and the performance of global markets at the beginning of this week. The effects of the global market performance will be seen in Egypt on Tuesday since the trading is cancelled for Monday which coincides with fifth anniversary of the 2011 Uprising and the national police day.
Egypt’s rally comes in tandem with rallies in the Gulf, after oil prices made a rebound last week. Brent crude soared to $32.18 per barrel on Friday, increasing by 10 per cent which is the one of the largest daily increase ever, according to Reuters.
The benchmark Saudi index TASI climbed 2.71 per cent, the Qatari index went up by 4.63 per cent, while the Kuwaiti index rose by 0.58 per cent.
Oil prices have dramatically fallen over the past year and a half, since the global market has been flooded with supply. Brent crude had hit its lowest point in 12 years, earlier this month, dropping below $30.
Elnagar, nonetheless, said the fears that the global economy will collapse and that oil will continue to fall are still there, asserting that the rise in prices last week does not mean that the “crisis” of oversupply and weakened demand is over.
Source: Aswat Masriya
