CAIRO: Trading resumed on Egypt's stock market after a 40-minute suspension early Thursday, and had fallen 10.587 percent on the day as of 1:20 pm Cairo local time. The broader EGX 70 was down more than 16 percent. A spokesperson at the Egyptian Exchange told Daily News Egypt that the trading session would not end early as some have suspected. The market closes at 2:30 pm. He added that the administration at the exchange — without specifying which officials — are in discussions with major institutional investors in a bid to shore up confidence, urging them to avoid the panic and re-invest in the market. The Egyptian Exchange halted trading until 11:30 am on Jan. 27, and at the time the main EGX 30 was down 6.24 percent at 5,916.74 points. A trader at CI Capital told Daily News Egypt, “It is a panic,” referring to investors' sell-off in the market. Mohamed Elzayat, analyst at CI Capital, said, “big investors, hedge funds and institutions are less nervous than retail investors.” Palm Hills Development, a major property developer, has been one of the hardest hit, Reuters reported, dropping 19 percent. Investors' fears have been fueled by the continued violent clashes between protesters and security forces that raged throughout the day into the late hours of Wednesday night, and are likely to continue today. Egypt's bourse chief had previously said that there was no reason to suspend trading and urged calm amongst investors, Reuters reported. On Wednesday, the market took a steep fall with the EGX 30 closing 6.14 percent lower at 6,310.44 points, the broader EGX 70 losing 10 percent and the EGX 100 falling 9.14 percent. The Egyptian pound is also sliding against the US dollar, falling to a new low to trade at 5.8472 against the green back, the lowest point since February 2005, Reuters reported. A day earlier it finished the day at 5.8300 against the US dollar. –Additional reporting by Amira Salah-Ahmed
