MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt plunges as liqudity tightens, Saudi climbs | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt plunges as liqudity tightens, Saudi climbs | Reuters:

Egypt’s stock market plunged to its lowest close this year on Wednesday as liquidity tightened, while most Gulf markets were little changed and Saudi Arabia continued to rebound from six-month lows.

The Egyptian stock index tumbled 3.8 percent, its biggest drop since mid-2016. On Sunday it had plunged 3.6 percent after an Egyptian criminal court ordered the arrest of ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s two sons on charges of stock market manipulation.

Fund managers said Egypt’s slide was at least partly due to jitters in emerging markets globally, although MSCI’s emerging market equity index rose on Wednesday, and credit default swaps and currency forwards do not so far show heavy pressure on the Eguptian pound. “Our channel checks suggest the sell-off in the Egyptian market is local retail and institutions driven, on currency fears and speculation over a further round of devaluation,” said Vrajesh Bhandari, portfolio manager at Al Mal in Dubai.