Egypt’s stock exchange soars on central bank reform, Abu Dhabi near record high

Oct 27 (Reuters) – Egyptian stocks surged on Thursday after a deal with the International Monetary Fund and the central bank’s announcement of economic reforms, while Abu Dhabi index rose within a range near record highs.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Egypt have reached a $3 billion financing deal for 46 months, the IMF said. The Central Bank of Egypt said it was introducing a range of new instruments, including currency swaps and forwards, to give banks more flexibility in currency transactions.

The central bank also raised interest rates by 200 basis points at an off-cycle meeting, saying it aimed to anchor inflation expectations and contain demand-side pressures.

Egypt Blue Chip Index (<.EGX30>) It rose 4.9%, its biggest intraday gain since early August, boosted by a 9.2% surge in Egypt’s Commercial International Bank ().

Egypt earlier this week the prime minister said The country aims to provide income tax relief of up to 55% for certain companies.

Egypt’s market rose sharply as international investors returned to some extent, said Fadi Reyad, chief market analyst for the Middle East and North Africa at CAPEX.com.

“The market is likely to get more support from the strong banking sector performance.”

Thursday’s gains trimmed the year-to-date decline to 7.3%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index (<.FTFADGI>) It rose 2.1 percent to 10,296, close to the all-time high set on Aug. 12 this year.

Crew ()a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Group International Holdings () (IHC) surged 8.2% ahead of its earnings report, hitting an all-time high.

IHC shares rose 4.1%.

Saudi Arabia Benchmark Index (<.TASI>) Retal Urban Development Co closed down 0.8% (<4322.SE>) Down 4.3% and the National Bank of Saudi Arabia (SNB) (<1180.SE>) It fell 6.3%.

The Swiss National Bank said on Thursday it would participate in Credit Suisse Group AG’s CSGN.S financing and pledged to invest up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.52 billion) for a stake of up to 9.9 percent.

Dubai’s main stock index (<.DFMGI>) Up 0.6%, blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (<开始读>) climbed 1.6%, while top lender Emaar Properties (<开始读>) It closed up 1.1% after net profit rose 51%.

Qatar Index (<.QSI>) Up 0.5%, ending four sessions of losses, Qatar Navigator () rose 5.4%.

However, the index fell 3.1% on a weekly basis, its third weekly decline.

On the other hand, Qatar Insurance () The insurer plunged 6.3 percent after turning a nine-month loss of 130.7 million riyals ($35.91 million) from a profit of 498.2 million riyals a year ago.

(1 USD = 3.6728 UAE Dirham)

(1 USD = 3.6400 Qatari Riyals)

Reporting by Ateeq Shariff from Bengaluru

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