Egypt, S.Arabia step up trade ties through coordination council talks    Egypt reviews progress on $200m World Bank-funded waste management hub    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    SCZONE showcases investment opportunities to eight Japanese companies    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    SCZONE, Tokyo Metropolitan Government sign MoU on green hydrogen cooperation    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt's FM, Palestinian PM visit Rafah crossing to review Gaza aid    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Stock exchange launches new, broader index
Published in Daily News Egypt on 02 - 03 - 2009

CAIRO: Responding to local investors' long-running push to introduce a broader index to the Egyptian Stock Exchange, officials this week launched the EGX 70 to complement the traditional benchmark EGX 30, formerly known as the CASE 30.
Many market players, mostly local retailers and institutions, had long been calling for an index that displayed the performance of companies with smaller capitalizations than those listed on the EGX 30.
"There has been a lot of preparation for this, said Mohamed Radwan, a broker with Pharos Securities. "A lot of clients were frustrated by the fact that the CASE 30 was the main indicator.
The new index includes the 70 most actively traded companies - excluding those on the EGX 30 - irrespective of size or market capitalization. The value of the index is calculated using the shift in the closing prices of the listed stocks.
The index's constituents are strewn across a variety of industries. Suez Cement, Eastern Tobacco, Pyramisa Hotels, Nile Matches and Cairo Poultry are all listed, for instance.
Included stocks will be reviewed twice per year and removed if they have not been traded in large enough volumes or frequently enough.
The introduction of the price index came as part of an ongoing attempt to modernize and upgrade the exchange's facilities and services, officials there said. The new exchange should be useful to all investors in the market, they said, as the 70 newly listed companies in conjunction with the 30 in the old benchmark will comprise the vast majority of trading.
But the EGX 70 is not likely to affect business at brokerages that deal with larger investors, who tend to trade in higher-capital companies, Radwan said. Much of the exchange's activity is concentrated in the top; the most active 10 constitute about 60 percent of the total volume and value traded.
"Mainly local funds that are specialized in small and medium caps will likely use the new index, he said.
As well as announcing that they would rename the CASE 30, exchange officials said they would begin to denominate the benchmark index in dollars in order to help foreign investors and others compare it with other exchanges' performances or with other investment instruments.
This, Radwan said, is likely in response to analysts' predictions that the Egyptian pound will continue to depreciate through the year.
It is too soon to tell whether this is a good move or not, he said. "We should see what's going to happen first, see some history first, then we decide, he said.
After hitting a lifetime high in May last year, the Egyptian Exchange's main benchmark index has slid to less than a third of its peak value, struck hard as foreign investors retreated following the deepening of the financial crisis.
The new EGX 70 closed at 439.27 points yesterday, down from 445.5 on Sunday.


Clic here to read the story from its source.