EGX30, EGX70 EWI and EGX100 EWI: what each index measures

The EGX30 follows the 30 biggest, most traded companies on the Egyptian Exchange, weighted by their size. The EGX70 EWI follows the next 70 most active companies, and the EGX100 EWI follows all 100, each with an equal weight.

Because one index counts size and the others count every company the same, they can move by different amounts, or even in opposite directions, on the same day.

Three indices at a glance

A stock index is one number that tracks the prices of a basket of shares. The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) builds and reviews its own indices. These facts come from its methodology documents dated August 2026.

"EWI" stands for equally weighted index. Each figure in the table is the index's level of prices, not a price you pay.

How big is each basket? On 29 October 2026, during trading, the EGX's index page showed EGX30 companies holding about 59% of the market value of the whole exchange. EGX70 EWI companies held about 23%. So the EGX70 EWI is mostly smaller and mid-sized companies.

How each index is weighted

EGX30: bigger companies count more

Each company counts in proportion to its free-float market value. That is its share price times the number of its shares that are free to trade, leaving out stakes that big owners hold long term.

So a move in one very large company can push the EGX30 more than moves in ten small ones.

The main EGX30 has no cap on any one company. A sister index, the EGX30 Capped (launched 3 February 2019), holds the same 30 companies but caps each at 15% of the index. That matches the rule for Egyptian funds in Article 174 of the Capital Market Law's executive regulations: a fund may not put more than 15% in the securities of one company.

EGX70 EWI and EGX100 EWI: every company counts the same

At each rebalance, every company gets the same weight: 1/70 or 1/100 of the index. A 10% jump in the smallest member moves the index as much as a 10% jump in the biggest.

Weights drift between rebalances as prices change. The EGX resets them four times a year (see below).

Worked example: same day, two answers

A made-up market of three companies, not market data:

• Market-value weighted: 60% × −4% + 30% × 2% + 10% × 10% = −2.4% + 0.6% + 1.0% = −0.8%.
• Equally weighted: (−4% + 2% + 10%) ÷ 3 = +2.7%.

Same shares, same day. One index is down, the other is up. That is why the EGX30 and the EWI indices can tell different stories.

How companies get in, and how often it changes

All three are reviewed twice a year. Under the August 2026 methodologies, changes take effect on the first business day of March (for a July–December review period) and September (for January–June). Results are announced at least two weeks before.

EGX30. A company must pass liquidity tests during the review period, including:

1. Traded on at least 95% of trading days.
2. Average daily trading value of at least 0.1% of the main market's.
3. Free-float turnover of at least 10%, or a place in the top 25% by daily trading value.

Passing companies are scored 50% on free-float market value and 50% on daily trading value. The top 33 make a shortlist. The top 27 go straight in. The last 3 places come from the remaining 6, with priority to companies already in the index. The index committee also aims for no more than 5 companies from one sector.

EGX70 EWI. The pool is every ordinary share on the main market, minus the EGX30 members. A company must trade on at least 90% of trading days and meet tests on the number of investors trading it and on turnover. Passing companies are ranked by average daily trading value, and the top 70 are chosen. A current member ranked 71 to 85 can keep its place.

EGX100 EWI has no test of its own. It is simply the EGX30 members plus the EGX70 EWI members, so it changes whenever either one does.

Equal weights are reset four times a year. For both EWI indices, March and September bring full reviews. In June and December, only the weights are reset to equal; members don't change.

A committee of market participants, fund managers and bankers, chaired by the EGX chairman, approves each review. It can also exclude companies, for example after serious rule breaches or during a takeover.

Why they move differently on the same day

Three reasons follow from the rules above.

• Weighting. A few large companies drive the EGX30. In the EWI indices, 70 or 100 equal votes do.
• Different companies. The EGX70 EWI holds no EGX30 members at all. Smaller companies often have thinner trading, so their prices can swing more when liquidity dries up.
• Overlap. The EGX100 EWI contains both groups, so it usually lands between them.

On a broad sell-off they fall together. On 22 October 2026, the EGX30 fell 3.41% to 51,052 points, SEE News reported. The EGX70 fell 3.09% and the EGX100 fell 3.20%.

When money leaves smaller companies, they split. In three sessions in mid-October 2026, the EGX70 fell about 9% against 3.8% for the EGX30, EnterpriseAM calculated. Fund managers were selling to free cash for new share offerings.

Over a year, the gap adds up. Year to date on 29 October 2026, during trading, the EGX's index page showed the EGX30 up about 18%, the EGX70 EWI about 25% and the EGX100 EWI about 27%.

How to use them

As a yardstick for a fund

A fund's results only mean something next to the right benchmark. Match the index to what the fund holds:

Example (made-up fund, not market data). Say a fund that holds mostly mid-sized companies is up 20% this year. Next to the EGX30's 18% it looks 2 points ahead. Next to the EGX70 EWI's 25%, it is 5 points behind. The right comparison is the second one.

Some funds track an index directly. As of October 2026, the EGX listed 15 approved index-tracking funds. Four followed the EGX70 EWI, two the EGX30 Capped and one the EGX100 EWI; the rest followed other EGX indices. A mutual fund's documents name its benchmark: check it before comparing.

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For reading market news

When a headline says "the market fell", ask which index. If the EGX30 fell but the EGX70 EWI rose, big companies had a bad day and smaller ones did fine. If all three fell by similar amounts, selling was broad.

What the indices don't tell you

• Your own return. These are price indices. Under their rules, an ordinary cash dividend is not added back, so dividends you would receive are missing. The EGX publishes a separate EGX30 TR (total return) index for that. Fund fees also come off your result, not the index's.
• Value in dollars. The figures are in Egyptian pounds. After a devaluation, an index can rise in pounds while falling in dollars.
• Whether a company is good. An index ranks by size and trading activity, not quality. Being in the EGX30 is not a seal of approval.
• What comes next. Past index moves don't predict future ones.
• Spread of risk inside the EGX30. With no cap, a handful of large members can dominate it. Equal weighting gives more diversification across companies, but more exposure to smaller, less traded ones.

Your plan

1. Open the EGX's index page and find all three indices. Note today's move for each.
2. Read the headline, then check the other two. Decide whether a move was led by big companies or was broad.
3. Find your fund's benchmark in its documents. Check that it matches what the fund holds.
4. Compare over a year or more, not a week. Allow for fees and for dividends the price index leaves out.
5. Note the review months. Members can change in March and September, which can move funds that track an index.

What to watch out for

• Headlines that quote only the EGX30. It reflects big companies, not the whole market.
• Unfair comparisons. A small-company fund next to the EGX30, or a total-return result next to a price index, flatters or punishes unfairly.
• Hot EWI runs. Smaller companies can rise fast and fall fast; a strong year in the EGX70 EWI is not a forecast.

This guide is for education only. It is not advice to buy or sell any share, fund or index product.