The EGX30 slipped back into the red yesterday, closing down 1.5% to resume a spell of volatility that has gripped the market over the past few weeks. The benchmark index had inched up 0.5% by the closing bell last Thursday and 1.0% on Wednesday. Index heavyweight CIB drove yesterday’s dip, ending the trading day down 2.4%. Orascom Development Egypt was down 3.6% and CIRA dipped 3.5%. The session’s best performers were Pioneers Holding up 1.7%, Orascom Investment Holding up 1.5%, and SODIC up 1.5%.

Egypt’s bourse was in lockstep with other regional markets which also performed poorly yesterday. Boursa Kuwait ended the trading day 4.7% in the red after S&P downgraded its credit to AA-, spurred by the country’s reliance on exports amid low oil prices globally, according to Bloomberg. Bahrain closed down 1.9%, Oman closed down 1.66%, and Qatar saw losses of 0.57%. Saudi’s Tadawul bucked the trend, inching up 0.8%.

Has the market bottomed out? Renaissance Capital analysts seem to think so, writing in a research note yesterday that “the market [in Egypt] might have found a floor until either we see further strict measures imposed by the government or an exponential growth in new covid-19 cases discovered.” The investment bank notes that the EGX30 index has shed around 25% in USD terms since the beginning of the month, which is around the same level as the MSCI EM index (-22%). RenCap expects healthcare, banks, and other “defensive stocks” to outperform on the EGX in the short term.

Meanwhile, stock buybacks continue: The Egyptian International Pharmaceuticals Industries Company’s (EIPICO) board approved yesterday the purchase of 1.6 mn in treasury stock, worth 1.61% of the company’s shares, according to an EGX filing (pdf). Madinet Nasr for Housing and Development (MNHD) also announced the purchase of some 507k treasury shares, bringing the company’s total stock buybacks to 2.4 mn shares since the beginning of the month, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf).