Egypt unrest pushes EGX index down by 3.5%

The market value of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) on Monday plummeted by 10.9 billion Egyptian pounds (EGP) with the main index sliding 2.5 percent. The EGX-30 index, tracking the performance of 30 major firms, went down by 3.55 percent to 5,123.6 points, while the EGX-70 of the small and medium stocks dropped by 5.32 percent to 402.12 points. The EGX-100 lost 4.01 percent to close at 700.49 points with the turnover standing at only EGP 481.2 million. The massive losses resulted mainly from the bloody incidents at the headquarters of the Republican Guard Corps, east Cairo, early this morning which left scores of casualties and aroused the concern of local and foreign investors about the outlook of the market. In a related development the EGX management said in a statement it shortened the time of trading from four to three hours during the holy month of Ramadhan.