How to Trade Crashing Egyptian Stock Market (EGPT, AFK, USO)

The Egyptian stock market plunged for the 2nd day in a row, which led to trading being halted for 30 minutes. The Egyptian stock market has only been open for two days since it was closed on January 27th. On each of those two days shortly after the stock market opened share prices crashed and trading has been halted. According to the Egyptian Exchange's website, the EGX 30 INDEX was down 4.27% shortly after noon in Cairo. Trading on the Egyptian Exchange was first halted on January 27th, as protests swept the country and led to a sudden plunge in stock prices. The exchange remained closed for nearly two months. After the closing of the stock market, the situation escalated with protests turning violent and eventually leading to the resignation of the longtime president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak. However, the unrest did not end after Hosni Mubarak stepped down from power, as the protesters were still concerned that Mubarak might still be influencing the Egyptian government and they could not be sure that he wouldn't simply be replaced with someone who would continue the policies that led to the widespread dissatisfaction in the first place. Two days of plunging stock prices and suspended trading show that investors are still not sure that the situation in Egypt is going to get much better soon. Tourists either fled the country or stopped coming after the protests began and it may take some time to convince them that Egypt is a safe place to visit. It's also uncertain what it will take for investors to put their money back into a country that faces widespread unrest, political uncertainty and is plagued by corruption. However, the fact that the EGX 30 INDEX is down 31.07% this year may get the attention of bargain hunters. If the Egyptians get their house in order and the environment for doing business improves, the Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF

should show some impressive gains. A more diversified investment vehicle is the Market Vectors-Africa Index ETF

. This ETF invests in stocks throughout Africa, with a significant portion of those companies being Egyptian ones. Another investment to consider if things continue to go bad in Egypt is the United States Oil Fund

because Egypt plays an important role in Middle East politics and unrest in the Middle East usually leads to rising oil prices.