Egypt Stock Market Jumps Up After Government Pays Dues to Foreign Investors

The Egyptian stock exchange climbed 3.5 percent on Wednesday after the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced that it has paid up the accumulated debt of $547.2 million to foreign investors.

The index for small and medium enterprises EGX 70 rose by 2.93 percent and the broader EGX 100 climbed by 2.01 percent.

Despite today's hike, the stock exchange administration suspended trading on several stocks for half an hour for exceeding the maximum drop allowed during a single session, 5 percent.

Ahmed Zakaria, the director of customer accounts at Okaz Securities Brokerage said it is "clear" that the market ended its downward trend, linking the climb with the CBE's surprise announcement.

On Tuesday, the CBE said in a statement on its website that it has cleared "all the pending backlog" owed to foreign investors "to date".

Mohamed Elaasar, technical analyst at Watani Financial Services agrees that paying the accumulated dues to foreign investors has contributed to the market's quick climb, adding that he expects the announcement to support the stock market's stability and investors' confidence.