Egypt Stock Market Opens, Plunges, Triggers Circuit Breakers, Closes

by Tyler Durden
03/23/2011 07:32 -0400
39 comments

So much for that $25 million EGPT ETF as being a leading indicator. AP dscribes what can only be summarized as the funniest plunge-protection free market reopening in history: "Shares on Egypt’s stock exchange plunged Wednesday as the market reopened after being shut for nearly two months because of the mass protests that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak. Egypt’s finance minister was on hand as men dumped confetti on the trading floor to mark the resumption of trading. But within seconds of the opening, trading was once again halted as an intense sell-off drove shares below pre-set limits put in place to slow any sharp declines. The market reopened half an hour later. The benchmark EGX 30 index was trading down 9 percent at 5,137 points by early afternoon, recovering slightly from a drop of nearly 10 percent earlier. Finance Minister Samir Radwan called on investors not to panic." Of course, where some see panic, others may see responsible selling of liquid assets as the clusterflock of black swans is now flying high in the troposphere and following the Gulfstream.

Some more on this huge market manipulation PR disaster: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ ... story.html

“We’re urging people to hold on to their shares and not be hasty. You might regret itâ€