Today: QNB Egypt crossed EGP 1 trillion in assets after reporting a 23% jump in first-half profit, while the EGX introduced a new index review timetable that gives investors and fund managers two weeks' advance notice before benchmark reshuffles take effect.

🔔 EGX30 ended -0.1% by market close at 52,256 points, the EGX70 rose 1.3% to 16,485 points, and the EGX100 rose 0.9% to reach 22,266 points.

💸 The number of transactions reached 217,196 spread across 3,298,850,279 stocks leading to a turnover of EGP 10.085 billion.

🏷️Local investors were the only net buyers. 

📈 Top gainers for the market as a whole included National Housing for Professional Syndicates (+14.3%), Alexandria New Medical Center (+10.4%), Engineering Industries (+9.8%)

📉 Top losers for the market included GMC Group for Industrial, Commercial & Financial Investments (-4.3%), Sharkia National Food (-3.7%), and Ceramic & Porcelain (-3.2%).

⬆️ Top gainers for EGX30 were Raya Holding (+3.3%), Heliopolis Housing (+1.8%), and GB Corp (+1.6%).

⬇️ Top losers for EGX30 included Misr Cement (-1.5%), Emaar Misr (-1.3%), and Arabian Cement (-1.3%).

Other Important Stats: 

🧈 24K Gold reached EGP 6,611 per gram, down 1.3% day-on-day and down 7.7% month-on-month.

💲 The USD reached EGP 49.87 at the National Bank of Egypt.

QNB Egypt (QNBE) saw its balance sheet surpass the EGP 1 trillion mark in the first half of 2026, with total assets rising 16% year-to-date to EGP 1.08 trillion, as the bank also reported another strong set of earnings. Net profit climbed 23% YoY to EGP 18.6 billion, while net banking income increased at the same pace to EGP 35 billion, according to the bank's earnings release.

What drove the numbers

Growth was supported by continued expansion across the bank's core business. Customer deposits rose 17% year-to-date to EGP 908.1 billion, gross loans increased 13% to EGP 525.8 billion, while the bank maintained a low 18.7% cost-to-income ratio despite exchange-rate volatility during much of the period.

The bank attributed the performance to an improving operating environment, citing the Central Bank of Egypt and Finance Ministry's policy response to regional geopolitical tensions, alongside a stronger Egyptian pound, gradually easing interest rates, lower global energy prices, and the gradual normalization of Suez Canal traffic.

Recent stock performance

QNBE shares are up 17.8% since the start of 2026 and have gained 86.7% over the past 12 months.

The Egyptian Exchange is changing the timetable for its main-market index reviews, giving investors and fund managers more advance notice before changes take effect. Under new rules approved by the exchange's index committee, the results of the semi-annual review will now be published at least two weeks before implementation, with changes becoming effective on the first working day of March and September, replacing the previous February 1 and August 1 schedule.

Why investors should care

Index reviews determine which companies are included in benchmarks such as the EGX30, EGX70 EWI, and EGX100 EWI, as well as how heavily each stock is weighted. Because index-tracking funds must adjust their portfolios to reflect those changes, the new notice period gives institutional investors more time to prepare their trades and should make rebalancing smoother.

The new timetable

The updated framework applies to the EGX30, EGX70 EWI, EGX100 EWI, EGX33 Shariah, EGX35-LV, EGX30 Capped, EGX30 TR, and all sector indices. Full reviews, conducted every March and September, will continue to add or remove constituents while updating weightings. Partial reviews in May and November will remain limited to weighting adjustments, taking effect from the first working day of June and December. The exchange will also publish a calendar for each review outlining the review period, announcement date, and implementation date.

The first review under the revised timetable is expected in September, with the constituent changes likely to be announced in mid-to-late August, giving the market its first look at how the longer preparation window works in practice.

Dates to keep an eye out for

July 15:

Hepco for Commercial Investments and Real Estate Development - record date for 0.8 bonus shares per original share. The distribution date is July 16.

July 20:

B Investments - record date for USD 0.030 per share. The distribution date is July 26.

July 26:

Lotus For Agricultural Investment- record date for 0.266 bonus share per original share. The distribution date is July 27.

July 29:

GB Corp - distribution date for EGP 0.15 per share. The record date was April 26.

July 30: 

Misr Fertilizers Production - distribution date for EGP 1 per share. The record date was May 3.

Talaat Moustafa Group - distribution date for EGP 0.15 per share. The record date was May 18.

📉 Egypt's current account deficit widened roughly 10% year-on-year to USD 14.6 billion in 9M FY 2025/26, according to a Central Bank of Egypt release, driven by deterioration on multiple fronts. The non-oil trade deficit was the biggest culprit, swelling 23.8% to USD 34.7 billion, while the oil trade deficit widened 26.8% to USD 13.1 billion — and a deepening investment income shortfall, up 18.2% to USD 14.4 billion, added further pressure.

🏖️ Tourism continued to provide a bright spot, with revenues rising 14.9% YoY to USD 14.4 billion during the first nine months of FY2025/26, up from USD 12.5 billion a year earlier. The increase helped lift Egypt's services surplus by 19.2%, cushioning some of the pressure on the country's external accounts.

🚢 The Suez Canal also staged a recovery, with revenues climbing 22.1% YoY to USD 3.2 billion, supported by an 18.5% increase in net tonnage to 426.9 million tons and a 7.6% rise in vessel traffic to nearly 10,000 ships. The rebound marks a welcome turnaround after months of disruption to Red Sea shipping routes and added another tailwind for Egypt's services balance.

In other news:

🏢 Egypt is preparing to establish a new state-owned joint-stock company to manage, develop, and invest government-owned real estate assets in partnership with the private sector, according to Asharq Bloomberg. Officials are also considering using the vehicle to restructure part of the government's debt by allowing holders of treasury bills to swap them for equity stakes in the company, helping reduce debt while unlocking greater value from state-owned assets.