The Egyptian Prime Minister’s page published a statement released by the Egyptian Stock Exchange, as stock markets in the Middle East region have witnessed a difficult period in 2022, as inflation, high interest rates and the war in Ukraine have seriously affected investor sentiment, according to Chief Market Strategist – Middle East and North Africa Region in Exness-Wael Makarem, who added that previous challenges have led to a divergence in performance of markets in the region, as most of Gulf Cooperation Council countries peg their currencies to the US dollar, and closely monitor Federal Reserve policy movements, which exposes the region to a direct impact of monetary policy tightening in the world’s largest economy.
Makarem said the war in Ukraine has created high volatility in energy prices which in turn has affected economies around the world and the performance of companies in various sectors, from transportation to retail.
Outside the Gulf region, Egypt’s blue-chip index (.EGX30) was up, posting a 22% year-over-year gain. Where the main index of the Egyptian Stock Exchange reversed its previous trend to post gains in the fourth quarter after the agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the support of the Central Bank to allow lenders greater flexibility in trading currencies.
