Indices of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) plunged on Sunday amid selling spree among foreign institutions and Arab and foreign retail traders, which was triggered by the explosions that hit a police checkpoint earlier today killing two people
The blast struck near the back entrance to the Foreign Ministry building and claimed the lives of two security officials, state television reported. At least seven others were seriously injured, Major Mahmoud Adel, an officer in the local police station, said in a phone interview with Bloomberg.
The benchmark index EGX30 offset its early gains, ending the day 0.11% or 10.53 points lower at 9718.57 points.
EGX70, which measures small and mid-cap stocks, also went down 0.37% to 1148.27 points.
The broader index EGX100 sagged 0.37% to 1148.27 points.
Market capitalization lost around EGP1.991 billion to reach EGP 525.210 billion, compared with EGP 527.201 billion on Thursday.
Sunday’s turnover amounted to nearly EGP 633 million, after 129.4 million shares were exchanged in 23.7 thousand transactions.
Nationals were net sellers by EGP 131.8 million, while foreign and Arab traders were net buyers by EGP 125.5 million and EGP 6.3 million respectively.
Retail traders accounted or 65.02% of total trading, while institutions made up the remaining 34.97%.