Egyptian equities extended their recovery on Tuesday, October 20, as the benchmark EGX30 rose 1.94% to 52,089.01 points and domestic and foreign institutions returned to net buying. Market breadth strengthened sharply, while MNT-Halan made a positive trading debut and Banque du Caire’s public offering became oversubscribed.
Yet the improvement contrasted with continued foreign selling of Egyptian government securities and a weakening pound. Foreign and Arab investors recorded combined net sales of approximately $245.4mn in the secondary government-debt market by late afternoon, even as institutional investors increased their exposure to listed equities.
The session’s defining development was the divergence between improving equity-market demand and continued pressure on government debt and the currency.
Recovery Gains Institutional Support
EGX30 advanced 990.18 points, closing at its intraday high of 52,089.01 after trading as low as 51,146.64. The stronger finish contrasted with Monday’s volatile rebound, when the benchmark recovered from a steep decline but closed below its session high.
Smaller shares outperformed. EGX70 climbed 2.17% to 17,903.71, while EGX100 gained 2.24% to 24,012.96. The Shariah-compliant EGX33 advanced 2.79% to 6,290.22, and EGX35-LV rose 2.67% to 6,135.72.
Market capitalization increased by a reported EGP76.5bn to approximately EGP4.040tn, compared with EGP3.963tn on Monday. The increase coincided with MNT-Halan’s first trading session, however, and the extent to which the new listing affected aggregate market capitalisation requires reconciliation before the full rise can be attributed to appreciation in existing shares.
Market breadth provided firmer evidence of recovery. According to Al Mal’s closing figures, 165 shares advanced, 44 declined and 14 remained unchanged, against Monday’s 127 gainers and 78 decliners.
Foreign investors bought a net EGP82.1mn of equities, while Egyptians purchased EGP13.9mn. Arab investors sold EGP96mn.
More significantly, Egyptian institutions recorded net purchases of EGP103.1mn and foreign institutions bought EGP83.1mn, partly offset by EGP49.9mn in Arab institutional selling. Aggregate institutional buying reached approximately EGP136.2mn, matched by net sales among individual investors.
The shift strengthened the recovery beyond Monday’s improvement in prices and market breadth. Nevertheless, EGX30 remained approximately 3.4% below its October 4 level, while EGX70 was still more than 10% lower.
MNT-Halan Debut Distorts Liquidity Comparison
Equity turnover increased to EGP9.129bn from EGP8.546bn on Monday, across approximately 2.24bn shares and 222,278 transactions.
But MNT-Halan accounted for approximately EGP1.29bn, or 14.2% of Tuesday’s trading value, on its first session.
Excluding the new listing, turnover in other shares was approximately EGP7.84bn, an 8.3% decline from Monday’s reported total. Although not a perfectly like-for-like comparison, the adjustment shows that headline turnover growth overstated the improvement across established shares.
MNT-Halan closed at EGP26.12, up 6.61% from its EGP24.50 offering price, after reaching EGP28.80 during the session. Approximately 47.66mn shares changed hands.
The company’s EGP7.84bn flotation involved 320mn existing shares, equivalent to 20% of its issued capital, sold by parent MNT Investments B.V.
However, the transaction also provides for a separate closed subscription by the parent of up to EGP4bn in newly issued shares at the offering price after completion.
The distinction matters. The IPO itself transfers existing shares, while the subsequent capital increase could provide fresh financing to the Egyptian business. The additional shares would also have implications for the ownership percentages of existing investors.
The successful debut demonstrated appetite for a major Egyptian financial-technology company, although the retreat from the intraday high indicated that demand remained sensitive to valuation.
Bank Offering Passes Early Subscription Test
Banque du Caire’s public offering attracted orders for approximately 241.3mn shares by Tuesday’s close, exceeding the 228.75mn shares available to individual investors by 5.5%, according to Al Borsa’s review of the exchange’s special-transactions system.
Coverage rose from 42.4% on Monday, the first subscription day.
The figures represent preliminary orders, not completed allocations. Public subscriptions remain open until October 28.
Banque Misr is selling 4.575bn existing shares, representing 30% of Banque du Caire’s issued capital, at an indicative price range of EGP4.82–5.30. The base transaction could generate EGP22.05bn–24.25bn before expenses.
The institutional tranche closes on October 23, with final pricing scheduled for October 26.
Four international investment groups have signed conditional agreements covering maximum proposed allocations totalling 63% of the institutional tranche. Their eventual participation remains dependent on pricing and contractual conditions.
The bank’s early oversubscription, alongside MNT-Halan’s debut, suggests that selected new offerings continue to attract investors despite the recent market correction.
Whether those transactions bring additional international capital into Egypt or redirect existing equity allocations remains a separate question.
Foreign Debt Selling Tests the Recovery
The strongest counter-signal came from government securities.
Egyptian Exchange investor-category data reported by Hapi showed foreign investors selling a net $438.82mn of Treasury bills and $40.53mn of Treasury bonds on Tuesday.
Arab investors partly offset those withdrawals with $233.91mn in net Treasury-bill purchases, producing approximately $245.4mn in combined foreign and Arab net sales across the secondary government-debt market.
The figures were recorded by 3:30 p.m. and should not be treated as independently verified final closing totals.
They nevertheless reveal a marked contrast between foreign net buying in listed equities and foreign selling of sovereign securities. The figures concern different asset classes and do not establish that the same investors moved directly between them.
The pound added to the pressure. Central Bank of Egypt quotations reported by Hapi placed the dollar at EGP54.46 buying and EGP54.56 selling on Tuesday, up approximately 57 piastres from Monday.
The movement represented a depreciation of about 1.05%, reducing EGX30’s 1.94% local-currency gain to approximately 0.9% for an unhedged dollar-based investor, before costs.
Government-debt trading remained substantial, with Al Bosla reporting EGP298.85bn in secondary-market Treasury-bill transactions. That figure measures trading value, not net capital outflows.
The Central Bank maintained overnight deposit and lending rates at 19% and 20%, respectively, at its September meeting, with the main-operation rate at 19.5%. Its next policy decision is scheduled for October 29.
High fixed-income yields and currency uncertainty continue to influence the relative attractiveness of equities.
Tuesday’s recovery was more convincing than Monday’s: institutional buying returned, smaller companies outperformed and the benchmark finished at its session high.
Yet trading outside the new listing weakened, foreign government-debt sales continued and the pound depreciated.
Egyptian equities have regained institutional support, but a durable recovery will require stronger liquidity across existing shares and a reduction in the currency and debt-market pressures that continue to undermine foreign investors’ returns.
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