EGX gains LE 5.7B in first 5 minutes of Sunday

CAIRO – 18 February 2018: The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) started Sunday’s trading in green, supported by the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to cut the interest rate by 1 percent.

Market Capitalization gained LE 5.7 billion after five minutes of the beginning of Sunday’s session, to record LE 869.5 billion.

The Benchmark EGX30 rose 1.08 percent and the equally weighted index EGX50 increased 0.97 percent.

The small and mid-cap index leveled up 0.35 percent and the broader index EGX 100 edged up 0.46 percent.

On Thursday, The Central Bank of Egypt lowered the interest rate by 1 percent as the inflation rates keep going downhill for the first time since November's flotation.

Egyptian economists expected that the Egyptian Exchange will benefit the most from the decision of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to cut the interest rate on deposits and loans by 1 percent.

Speaking to MENA, Chairman of Masters Securities Mohamed Fathi said that the interest rates cut decision is a clear-cut message from the central bank that more deductions are expected within the coming period, especially after the CBE succeeded in bringing down inflation rates from 35 percent to 17 percent.

Managing director of one of the Bourse's securities companies, Sameh Hilal, was upbeat that the Egyptian Bourse will witness more investments within the coming period after the CBE's decision.

Hilal expected that the main index of Bourse will surmount 15,500 points this week.
The bank cut its overnight deposit rate to 17.75 percent from 18.75 percent and its overnight lending rate to 18.75 percent from 19.75 percent.

Arab and foreign purchases pushed the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) to end Thursday in green, with profits exceeding LE 10 billion.

The benchmark EGX30 increased 1.08 percent or 159.98 points, to close at 14,965.93 points.