The Egyptian stock market lost LE41 billion in six sessions last week, and is expected to lose more.
Experts attributed the collapse to the economic conflict between China and the United States, unstudied government decisions vis-a-vis investors, the drop in oil prices and the decline of the Chinese currency, expecting a slowdown in the global economy.
They also said that the sudden seizing of the funds of the chairman of the Juhayna company on charges of him belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood has shocked investors and affected their speculations for the future of the market.
Professor of Economics at the Sadat Academy Sherif Kassem said the market was also affected when the Antitrust Authority referred the Oriental Weavers company to the Public Prosecution on charges of monopoly.
He explained that the stock market does not reflect the strength or weakness of the economy. “It is a just a speculative market where investors make or lose profits, that’s all,” he said. “The small investors are affected most by the wrong speculations of the big investors.”
Mustafa Adel, an expert in financial markets, attributed the decline to the postponement of the capital tax law.
Mahmoud Kamel, a technical analyst, attributed it to the fact that foreign investors cannot convert their profits into dollars and transfer them abroad due to the shortage of the currency.
The main EGX30 index, the small and mid-cap EGX70 index and the broader EGX100 index fell by 8.9 percent, 7.1 percent and 6.4 percent respectively.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
