By: Heba El-Kordy
Cairo – Mubasher: Market capitalisation of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) fell on Sunday to its lowest level since 31 December 2017 as nearly 135 stocks dropped, losing EGP 24.5 billion and closing at EGP 825.08 billion amid investor concerns.
The EGX has performed negatively due to the arrest of about nine men accused of stock market manipulation, Hesham Hassan, head of technical analysis at Acumen for Securities, commented.
On Saturday, 16 September the Cairo Criminal Court has ordered the arrest of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s two sons for violating the rules of the EGX and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to make unlawful profits through dealing in shares of Al Watany Bank of Egypt (AWB).
Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, as well as other seven other men accused of stock market manipulation, have denied any wrongdoing, Reuters reported.
The current and former board members Yasser El Mallawany and Hassan Heikal, respectively, at Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes were also detained, the London-based news agency said, citing a judicial source.
The leading investment bank said on Sunday it is not a part of the manipulation case and all the company’s activities and business will carry on as usual in light of the current management, according to a bourse filing.
The biggest losers in today’s trading session were retail investors who traded on margin, Hassan noted, pointing out that most individuals had to sell their shares after the market plunged.
The benchmark EGX30 index plummeted 552.99 points, or 3.61%, finishing the session at 14,755.63 points.
Hassan stressed that many investors would have benefited from today’s session if the short-selling system was applied.
Foreign sell-off weighed on around 13 blue-chip stocks on Sunday.
Translated by: Mai Ezz El-Din
