2012-02-02

Egyptian social mood causes riots and stock market decline

In Egypt heading for collapse, I looked at the Egyptian economy breaking down. Now, a riot at a soccer game preceded a sell-off in the stock market.
Egypt market plunges after deadly soccer riots
Egypt's benchmark stock index fell over 2 percent Thursday, paring an earlier plunge stemming from deadly soccer riots the night before that left 74 dead and rekindled fears of fresh instability akin to the unrest that has battered the country and its economy in the year since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.
Everyone thinks the riots caused a sell-off, but soccer riots aren't strange, even when it leads to death. In Egypt's case, the riot and the falling stock market are both a result of negative social mood.
"There are a lot of fears, a lot of concerns, a lot of potential clashes," said Mustafa Abdel-Aziz, senior broker with Mideast investment bank Beltone Financial's brokerage division. "But we're seeing the market react much better than it should" given the night's violence.
But what's "not quantifiable is the extended tension between the police, the protesters and the army," said Abdel-Aziz. "Definitely, if there's an extended tension in this relationship, you could see another wave of selling."

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