All indices on the Egyptian stock market fell on the first day of new chairman Mohamed Omran's term, driven by an Arab and Egyptian sell-off. Egypt's principal index, the EGX 30, closed down 2.2 percent. The small and medium companies index, the EGX 70, fell 2.7 percent, and the EGX 100 fell 2.4 percent. Total transactions amounted to 327.1 million EGP (U.S. $54.78 million), while losses totaled 6 billion EGP (U.S. $1.004 billion). Foreign investors' net purchases were not able to stem the losses. Financial analyst Islam Abdel Aty said today's dramatic decline was the result of investor confusion after Omran's appointment. He said he hopes the main stock market index respect the current strength of the main index, which is strong for the time being. Abdel Aty recommended to increase confidence and focus on the small extent expectations. Egyptian investors made up 54.8 percent of trades, or 11.9 million EGP (U.S. $1.99 million). Foreign investors constituted 37.9 percent of trades, totaling 9.7 million EGP (U.S. $1.62 million), while Arab investors made up 7.3 percent of trading, or 21.6 million EGP (U.S. $3.62 million). Many companies witnessed a dramatic decline, including Mobinil by 3.3 percent, Commercial International Bank by 1.7 percent, Juhaina by 1.2 percent, Citadel by 1.3 percent, Public Giza by 4.3 percent, Amer Group by 3.3 percent, Orascom Construction by 1.7 percent, Al-Masreya Resorts by 3.7 percent, Pioneers by 5.1 percent, Ezz Steel by 2.02 percent, and Palm Hills down 3.3 percent.
