MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt hit by surprise interest rate hike, Qatar leads in Gulf | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt hit by surprise interest rate hike, Qatar leads in Gulf | Reuters:

"Egypt's stock market fell sharply in early trade on Monday after an unexpected move by the central bank to raise key interest rates while in the Gulf Qatar outperformed an otherwise quiet market.

All but three of the 30 most traded stocks in Egypt declined after 25 minutes of trade knocking the stock index 1.7 percent lower.

At a meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee, the central bank hiked its overnight deposit rate to 16.75 percent from 14.75 percent and its overnight lending rate to 17.75 from 15.75 percent. This was the bank's first increase in rates since an aggressive hike of 300 basis points in November."



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