The Egyptian Stock Exchange closed Wednesday's trading session with a significant decline across all its indices, impacted by heavy selling that eroded some of its previous gains. The market capitalization of listed companies recorded substantial losses of approximately 43 billion Egyptian pounds, closing at 2.980 trillion pounds, reflecting a state of uncertainty and anticipation among investors.
Key indicators performance details
In session details, the EGX 30, the main index of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), which includes the 30 largest and most liquid listed companies, declined by 1.43% to close at 43,058.34 points. The sub-indices were not immune to this decline, with the EGX 70 index for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) experiencing a sharper drop of 2.44% to 12,396.96 points, while the broader EGX 100 index fell by 2.09% to 16,648.52 points.
Liquidity movement and trading mechanisms
The session witnessed active trading, with total transactions reaching approximately EGP 54.6 billion, including stock market transactions alone which accounted for around EGP 4.5 billion. As part of the exchange's regulatory role to ensure trading stability, trading was halted on two stocks for 10 minutes after they exceeded the permitted daily fluctuation limits of 5%. The exchange also reported the settlement of 20,000 share issuances yesterday, bringing the total outstanding share issuances to 3.18 million.
The economic context and the importance of price correction
This collective decline follows a mixed session yesterday, which financial market experts often interpret as a natural "correction" and profit-taking, especially after the indices reached historic highs, exceeding 43,000 points for the main index. The Egyptian Stock Exchange is considered one of the most important emerging markets in the region and plays a pivotal role as a reflection of the local economy and a financing tool for companies.
These movements are particularly significant given the growing interest in investing in stocks as a hedge against inflation, making monitoring market indices crucial for both local and foreign investors. The market capitalization reaching nearly EGP 3 trillion reflects the depth of the Egyptian market and its capacity to absorb capital inflows, despite the daily fluctuations that are a defining characteristic of both global and local financial markets.
