{"id":561072,"date":"2021-03-24T04:12:58","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T04:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/03\/24\/what-were-tracking-on-24-march-2021\/"},"modified":"2021-03-24T04:12:58","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T04:12:58","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-24-march-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/03\/24\/what-were-tracking-on-24-march-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 24 March 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Good morning, friends. The big question on everyone\u2019s mind this morning: Will investors <\/strong>step in today on the EGX to \u201cbuy the dip\u201d <\/strong>after the EGX30 posted another day of losses yesterday. After spending the first quarter solidly in the green, a sharp two-day selloff has sent it down 3.5% YTD. We had chapter and verse in yesterday\u2019s EnterprisePM<\/a> on what happened.<\/p>\n

One of the smartest market analysts we know says it\u2019s not time to panic<\/strong>, suggesting domestic institutions will likely start picking up shares that are now very attractively priced. Still, he said, volumes could be a bit thinner in the coming weeks as we ease toward Ramadan, a time of high cash demand for the retail investors who presently account for c. 70% of daily activity on the exchange.<\/p>\n

That process may have started yesterday<\/strong>, with institutional investors accounting for a bit over 33% of total trading on the EGX (up from 29%) as the bourse rallied from a sharper dip early in the session.<\/p>\n

That seems to be the message from the regulator, too: <\/strong>The bourse took a tumble because retail traders were hit with margin calls yesterday (after the EGX30 slumped a sharp 2.5% on Monday and then a plunge in the EGX100 triggered a mandatory pause in trading early yesterday), member of the Financial Regulatory Authority\u2019s advisory committee Rania Yacoub told Hadith Al Kahera\u2019s Khairy Ramadan and Karima Awad. She expects institutional investors to come back into the market, giving it a chance to catch its breath and instilling a sense of long-term stability (watch, runtime: 7:45<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The EGX30 is now at its lowest level since October 2020<\/strong>, but up some 30% from the low it touched last March when global emerging market stocks cratered as investors pulled back in the early weeks of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING NOW: Traffic in the Suez Canal is reportedly at a standstill after a \u201cgiant <\/strong>container ship ran<\/strong> aground\u201d in the waterway<\/strong> yesterday morning, Bloomberg<\/a> reports, citing ship brokers and mapping data. The container ship \u2014 from Taiwan\u2019s Evergreen \u2014 was still stuck in the canal at 2am CLT, ship tracking data showed, according to the business information service. Vessels traveling in both directions are waiting for the container ship to be refloated.<\/p>\n

<\/a> *** CATCH UP QUICK<\/strong> with the top stories from yesterday\u2019s edition of EnterprisePM:<\/p>\n