Abdullah Hamed - Cairo
Analysts have called on the Egyptian government to reassure the market about the absence of a large-scale war in Libya in order for the Egyptian Stock Exchange to recover, after suffering heavy losses on Sunday.
Stock market indicators were colored in red during yesterday's trading, due to sharp declines in stock prices among Egyptians for sale, against the backdrop of the security services directing celebrities and writers to talk about aligning behind the army in the face of Turkish military intervention to support the Libyan reconciliation government.
The Egyptian Stock Exchange lost in the first hour of its activity about 25 billion pounds (equivalent to about 1.5 billion dollars).
The main stock index "EGX30" lost about 4.3% of its value from the start of Sunday's trading session until before the end of trading yesterday in less than an hour, as it decreased to the level of 13283 points, driven by the sales of Egyptian investors.
The index "EGX70" for small and medium shares fell 4.77%, and the index "EGX100" broader by 4.79%.
The market capitalization of the Stock Exchange lost about 28.7 billion pounds during the session (the dollar equals about 16 pounds), to reach the session closing time about 678.1 billion pounds, compared to 706.7 billion pounds at the end of trading last Thursday.
The Egyptian investors' transactions in shares only recorded a net sale of 71.4 million pounds, while the transactions of foreign and Arab investors recorded a net purchase of 68.9 million pounds and 2.5 million pounds, respectively.
The Egyptian investors ’transactions in stocks and bonds recorded a net sale of 372.1 million pounds, at a time when foreign and Arab investors’ transactions recorded a net purchase of 369.6 million pounds and 2.5 million pounds, respectively.
The former head of the Egyptian and Arab direct investment societies called for the Egyptian government to reassure the market, pointing out that the stock exchange needs reassurance statements by the state in order to calm investors in the stock market, especially as the stock market continued to decline today, but at a lower rate than yesterday.
Tawfiq said in press statements that the stock market is the enemy of rumors, so the market needs reassurance from the state to confirm that Egypt will not be drawn into a war in Libya, noting that expectations about the future of the market have become very difficult.
The Egyptian security services distributed a unified letter to artists and the media, stressing what he described as the danger of the Turkish presence in Libya over Egyptian national security.
Public figures on social media called for lining up behind the political leadership and rejecting the political opposition, as a preponderance of national security over political differences.
The unity of the unified discourse under the name of “We are all the Egyptian army” reached the degree of treachery to all who did not participate in the national alignment campaign.
Sources told Al-Jazeera Net that the security authorities responsible for the media had asked journalists and artists to urge and mobilize the Egyptians to "line up behind the political leadership regarding the Libyan issue."
The messages also included an attempt to emphasize "the intelligence of Sisi to purchase Rafale and Mistral aircraft carrier for this day, and not to buy the European Union's silence about the violations taking place in Egypt, as critics said at the time."
The letters demanded that anyone who rejects the war decision be charged with "treason and employment", and that "he should be ostracized and even informed if necessary."
In this context, and simultaneously, many Egyptian media professionals and artists announced their support for Sisi in defense of Egyptian national security, while publishing lists of Turkish products on the market to boycott them.
Satellite channels broadcast and continuously broadcast video clips of the Egyptian army equipment, and in its background the voice of Sisi talks about "the dangers facing the country and the sacrifices of its sons."
The presidential spokesperson, Ambassador Bassam Radi, said that Sisi presided over the National Security Council meeting on Thursday evening to deal with developments in the Libyan crisis, the threats that the Turkish military intervention would represent in Libya, and define necessary measures to address any threat to Egyptian national security.