Another month, another record high for the EGX: The EGX30 index concluded January at a record high of 47.78k points, marking a sharp 14.2% monthly increase, according to the bourse’s monthly bulletin (pdf).

Large caps are running the game: The headline growth masks a significant divergence across the broader market, as the small and mid-cap EGX70 EWI fell by 7.4% during the same period. While total market capitalization grew 5.3% to EGP 3.2 tn, this appreciation was concentrated exclusively in the heavyweights of the EGX30, which saw their combined market value jump 12.2%.

A bond + bill market: The exchange continues to be a secondary market for government debt rather than a capital-raising venue for the private sector. Fixed-income instruments captured a dominant 93.7% of the total value traded in January.

Could equities make a serious comeback this year? The government is working on selling stakes in some of its companies on the EGX including Banque du Caire and, potentially, AlexBank. And the private sector is also tipping its toes in, with Gourmet’s offering priced yesterday at the top of the range while Bosta and Capital Med are both said to be interested in testing the waters. Still, the value of trading in listed stocks would need to rise 15x to be equal to that of fixed-income.

Sentiment is bullish on banking with the index up 17.4% last month, alongside IT & comms which was up 12.8%, while healthcare and pharma was down 6.2%, followed by shipping and transportation (-5.5%)

Institutional concentration: Local institutions were the primary exiters from listed stocks (excluding deals), offloading over EGP 4.1 bn. Conversely, foreign and Arab institutions were the largest institutional net buyers in this segment at EGP 3.8 bn.

BUT- The picture shifts significantly when including bonds and bills, with foreign institutions’ net buying rising to EGP 193.1 bn, confirming that their primary interest remained in the sovereign debt market rather than listed equities.

Retail floor: Local retail investors provided the strongest support to the equity market, with net purchases exceeding EGP 1 bn. Arab retail investors were net sellers of EGP 735.4 mn, moving in the opposite direction of their institutional counterparts.

EFG Hermes topped the EGX brokerage league table with a 15.5% market share, according to figures released by the bourse (pdf). Thndr Securities Brokerage came in second with 11.6%. CI Capital (7.5%), Mubasher (7.1%), and Cairo Capital Securities (6.1%), rounding out the top five.

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