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Bloomberg
Holders of Egyptian stocks seem to have developed thick skin.
The benchmark index rose 0.8 percent in Cairo on Sunday even after more than 300 people were killed in a militant attack in northern Sinai on Friday. “No one is in shock as investors have, unfortunately, become immune to such events,†said Ashraf Akhnoukh, the director of Middle East and North Africa sales trading at Arqaam Capital. Still, “there is negative sentiment triggered by the attack.†When 16 policemen were killed in an ambush last month, the gauge fell less than 0.1 percent. When two churches were bombed in April, stocks declined for two days then recovered on the third, trimming the five-day drop to 1 percent.
Sixteen members of the benchmark EGX 30 Index gained, while 10 declined and four were unchanged. ElSewedy Electric Co. added 2.3 percent.
The gauge has advanced 15 percent this year. There was no claim of responsibility for Friday’s assault. “These kinds of attacks are not seen as destabilising the regime itself, that’s why we’re not seeing a plunge today,†said Khaled Nagah, head broker at Cairo-based Mega Investments.