CAIRO: The benchmark Hermes index fell nearly 5 percent in the first half hour of trade on Sunday, in line with declining Gulf bourses and amid jitters over sectarian clashes in Alexandria, traders said. The slump follows recent sell-offs in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the Arab world s largest bourses. Saudi shares are falling on a crackdown on market manipulation, and the events in Alexandria have added to the pessimism in Egypt, traders said. On Saturday, police fired tear gas to stop clashes in the northern city between Muslims and Christians angered by the killing of an elderly Copt a day earlier by a Muslim, witnesses said. Most of the Gulf markets are down and Cairo s been on a downward trend for the past week .... The Alexandria events have had an effect. You should expect such a thing to have some repercussions, said Mohammed Radwan of Delta Securities. By 10:38 GMT the Hermes index was beginning to stabilize, and was down 2,183.97 points, or 3.7 percent, at 56,253.98 points, after falling as low as 55,711.52. The broader CIBC index was down 5.2 points, or 2.2 percent, at 234.6. The Case 30 index was at 310.52 points, down 4.5 percent at 6,599.15. Investment bank EFG-Hermes was one of the stocks hardest hit, falling LE 5.58 or 7.7 percent to LE 66.50. Traders said stocks popular with retail investors had borne the brunt of the sell-off. Reuters
