Egyptian Stock Index Among the World’s Best Performers After Government Announces Stimulus Package

At the closing bell of the stock market Monday, the Egyptian stock index was among the world’s best performers after Argentina and Morocco. The EGX30 index climbed 6.8% throughout the day, before falling back to 3% following afternoon sell-offs. This rise is notable after last Wednesday, March 18th, saw the stock market hit its lowest point since the floatation of the Egyptian pound in November 2016.

The surge was fuelled by Sunday’s announcement that EGP 20 billion of the state’s EGP 100 billion stimulus package has been dedicated to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE)’s support of the stock exchange, which the CBE then confirmed will be used to directly purchase shares in the stock exchange. The CBE has given no further details as to how it will be moving into the market.