CAIRO, Feb 1 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt's benchmark index EGX 30 fell by 1.5 per cent during the first half hour of trading on Monday to reach 5,898 points.

The index for small and medium enterprises EGX 70 declined by 0.2 per cent while the broader EGX 100 rose by 0.24 per cent.

Global oil prices fell today due to fear of a possible coordinated decrease in production by leading crude oil exporters, with Brent crude oil price reaching $35.5 per barrel, according to Reuters, which is higher than the record-low prices reached in early 2016.

Egyptian stocks’ value decreased by EGP 38.6 billion (around $4.93 billion) in January. Hit by the global decline in oil prices, Egypt’s benchmark index fell by 14.4 per cent.