Egyptian Stock Exchange Develops EGX 30 Index Methodology

The Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). (Reuters)
The Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). (Reuters)
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Egyptian Stock Exchange Develops EGX 30 Index Methodology

The Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). (Reuters)
The Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX). (Reuters)

The Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) approved the development of the EGX30 index methodology for index formation and criteria for listing companies.

It also added a new standard for listing companies in the rest of the indices in the primary market so that the index conforms to the listing rules while maintaining its stability.

EGX issued a press release announcing that this step comes in light of the continuous development of indicators’ methodologies and their suitability to international best practices.

The statement said the new methodology is based on setting a maximum number of companies from the same sector, not to exceed five companies, contributing to diversifying the industries that make up the market indices to reflect the circulation and market performance comprehensively.

It also included setting a minimum limit for the company’s issued capital to be listed in the leading market indices.

It is required that the company’s issued capital to be fully paid, no less than EGP100 million or its equivalent in foreign currencies, based on the latest annual or periodic financial statements accompanied by a comprehensive audit report and certified by the company’s general assembly.

Chairman of EGX, Mohamed Farid Saleh said that developing the methodology aims to integrate with the listing rules and achieve more stability for market indices, enhance investment attractiveness and contribute to improving the diversification rates of the sectors that make up the index in line with international best practices.

The new methodology will be applied during the current review process in early August.

CEO of Azimut Egypt and EGX board member Ahmed Abou el-Saad noted that the development of the indicators’ methodology had witnessed massive efforts to correct any distortions during the last stages.

He explained that indices are significant markers for the company’s performance, which is reflected in the quality of the companies that join the index.

Mohamed El-Saiid, Executive Director and Head of Technical Analysis at HC Securities and Investment, explained that the continuous development of the methodology of EGX indices is undoubtedly significant.

He noted that it adds and ensures a more excellent and more comprehensive representation of the market through indices of all kinds.

The main criterion for selecting the constituents of the index is liquidity. A buffer rule is applied to the constituent selection process at each rebalancing to reduce turnover.

The company is considered eligible for inclusion in the index if its adjusted market capitalization is not less than the median of the adjusted market capitalization of the top 60 traded companies ranked as per the liquidity screening.



Dollar Resumes Upward Trend, Euro Hits Lowest since Nov 2022

US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Dollar Resumes Upward Trend, Euro Hits Lowest since Nov 2022

US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The dollar hit new multi-month highs against the euro and the pound on Thursday, the first day of 2025 trading, as it built on last year's strong gains on expectations US interest rates will remain high relative to peers.

The euro fell to as low as $1.0314, its lowest since November 2022, down around 0.3% on the day. It is now down nearly 8% since its late September highs above $1.12, one major victim of the dollar's recent surge.

Traders anticipate deep interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank in 2025, with markets pricing in at least four 25 basis point cuts, while not being certain of even two such moves from the US Federal Reserve, Reuters reported.

The dollar was hitting milestones across the board and the pound was last down 0.65% at $1.2443, its lowest since April, with its fall accelerating after it broke through resistance around $1.2475.

"It's more of the same at the start of the new calendar year with the dollar continuing to extend its advances in anticipation of Trump putting in place friendly policies at the start of his term," said Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst at MUFG.

US President-elect Donald Trump's policies are widely expected to not only boost growth but also add to upward price pressure. That will lead to a Fed cautious about cutting rates too much further, in turn underpinning US Treasury yields and boost dollar demand.

A weaker growth outlook outside the US, conflict in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war have also added to demand for the dollar.

The dollar also reversed an early loss on Thursday to climb against the Japanese yen, and was last up 0.17% at 157.26.

It reached a five-month high above 158 yen in late December, potentially putting pressure on the Bank of Japan, which is expected to raise interest rates early this year, but possibly not immediately.

"If dollar/yen were to break above 160 ahead of the next BOJ meeting, that could be a catalyst for the BOJ to hike in January rather than wait until March," said Hardman.

"Though for now markets are leaning towards March after the dovish comments from (governor Kazuo) Ueda at his last press conference."

Even those who are more cautious about sustained dollar strength think it could take a long time to play out.

"The dollar may be vulnerable – but only if the US data confound market expectations that the Fed doesn’t cut rates more than once in the first half of this year, and not by more than 50bp in the whole of 2025," said Kit Juckes chief FX strategist at Societe Generale in a note.

"There's a good chance of that happening, but it seems very unlikely that cracks in US growth will appear early in the year – hence my preference for taking any bearish dollar thoughts with me into hibernation until the weather improves."

China's yuan languished at 14-month lows as worries about the health of the world's second-biggest economy, the prospect of US import tariffs from the Trump administration and sliding local yields weighed on investor sentiment.

Elsewhere, the Swiss franc, another victim of the recent dollar strength, gave back early gains to last trade flat at 0.90755 per dollar.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars, however, managed to break away from two-year lows touched on Tuesday. The Aussie was 0.36% higher at $0.6215 having dropped 9% in 2024, its weakest yearly performance since 2018.

The kiwi rose 0.47% to $0.5614.