EGX rallies on stamp tax gradual increase, benchmark jumps 2.6%

CAIRO – 2 March 2017: The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) surged Thursday amid an investor buying spree, mainly from local and foreign institutions.

The benchmark index EGX30 surged 2.6 percent to end at 12,310 points, up from 11,998 points Wednesday.

The rally followed a statement by Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy about considering a gradually increasing stamp tax on stock trades. The tax start at 0.125 percent for both sellers and buyers, instead of the 0.175 percent suggested earlier.

Egypt's stock market has seen a downward wave since the Ministry of Finance announced a stamp duty would come into effect before May. The new stamp duty is expected to generate 1-1.5 billion EGP ($63.2 -$94.7 million) in the next fiscal year (2017/2018).

Also, the small and mid-cap index EGX70 rose 1.15 percent to close at 477 points, compared to 471 points in its last session.

Similarly, the broader index EGX100 rose 1.22 percent to close at 1,152 points after 1,138 points Wednesday.

Market capitalization gained around 12 billion EGP ($731.9 million,) totaling 603.1 billion EGP, and turnover amounted to 1.2 billion EGP.