Egypt's Main Stock Index Drops by 10% as Protesters Defy Demonstration Ban

Source: Bloomberg

Egypt’s stocks tumbled the most in more than two years after protesters against the country’s government yesterday defied a ban on demonstrations.

The North African nation’s benchmark EGX 30 Index slumped 10 percent, the most since October 2008, to 5,678.43 at 12:06 p.m. in Cairo. Trading was suspended from 10:40 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The EGX 70 plunged 15 percent, the biggest drop since at least January 2008.

Cairo is under heavy security for a second day to prevent the repeat of the Jan. 25 protests, when thousands took to the streets of the capital and major cities to denounce President Hosni Mubarak, inspired by the revolt that toppled Tunisia’s leader. Groups organizing the protests, including the National Association for Change, are calling for another round of protests tomorrow, Abdel Rahman Youssef, a leading figure in the opposition movement said by text message.



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