Egypt Stocks Tumble On Gaza Bloodshed, Assiut Rail Disaster

Egyptian stocks fell in the week’s first trading day following a three-day weekend, pulled down by Israel’s ongoing assault on the next-door Gaza Strip and a massive road/rail accident in Upper Egypt.

The benchmark EGX30 index fell 3.2 per cent to 3,478 points, with investors losing their appetite due to the mounting death toll in Gaza, which, as of Sunday, reached more than 60.

Ashraf Abdel-Aziz, head of institutional sales at Cairo-based Arabeya Securities, told Ahram Online that the Egyptian market had also suffered from Saturday’s road/rail collision in the Upper Egyptian Assiut governorate in which more than 50 children were killed.

In reaction to the tragedy, dozens of angry Assiut residents staged demonstrations to demand the local governor’s resignation.

The broader EGX70 index, meanwhile, declined by 3.6 per cent for the day, in a session that saw Egyptian and foreign investors net-selling to the tune of LE3 million and LE7.3 million, respectively.

All major listed stocks ended the day in the red, led by Orascom Construction Industries and Commercial International Bank, which fell by 3 and 4.2 per cent.

Blue-chip shares Ezz Steel and Orascom Telecom, meanwhile, slumped by 4.3 and 2.1 per cent.

Property shares Talaat Mostafa Group, Palm Hills and SODIC also chalked up losses, slipping by 4.4, 5.3 and 4.1 per cent respectively.

Total daily turnover on Sunday stood at some LE280 million.

Ahram