Egyptian shares tumble as bourse reopens

Shares on Egypt’s stock exchange plunged as the market reopened on Wednesday. It had been shut for seven weeks because of the mass protests that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak.

After ringing the opening bell, Egypt’s finance minister Samir Radwan said the dip in share prices was normal given the circumstances but added: “What I advise is to stick to your papers [shares], don’t rush to sell, you may regret it. Go on buying, go on buying, this is the time to buy, it’s a buyers market.”

The benchmark index ended the session down 8.9 percent. From the start of the political turmoil on 25 January to when the market closed two days later Egyptian shares slumped, losing the equivalent of 8.5 billion euros in value

Investor uncertainty was in evidence right from the start of trading on Wednesday and the index immediately fell 10 percent, triggering market circuit breakers so that the bourse had to be closed for half an hour.

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