October Monthly Overview: Egypt worst hit, as markets tumble from global sell-off | ZAWYA MENA Edition

October Monthly Overview: Egypt worst hit, as markets tumble from global sell-off | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Middle Eastern markets were caught up in a sharp global sell-off last month, as investors reacted to the decision by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cut its global growth forecast by 0.2 percent to 3.7 percent, as concerns grow over the impact of trade tensions between the United States and its trade partners.

The MSCI World index witnessed its biggest drop since mid-2012, falling 7.5 percent during the month. While Egypt was hit hard by heavy local institutional selling, the opposite was the case in Saudi Arabia – the region’s biggest market – as local buyers stepped in to ease the impact from the global backlash felt as a result of the crisis over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.