Who is trading?
Trading data splits market participants by nationality into three groups, Egyptian, Arab and foreign, and by type into individuals and institutions. Each group has two figures: how much it bought and how much it sold. The difference is the "net": more buying is net buying, more selling is net selling.
Why the nets add up to zero
Every trade has a buyer and a seller. If foreigners bought 100 million more than they sold, someone else must have sold 100 million more than they bought. Total buying across the market equals total selling, and the nets of all groups sum to zero.
How to read the figure
First, check whether the figure covers stocks only or the whole market. Total flows can include bonds and bills, which are a very different activity from stocks. Second, look at the trend over weeks, not one day. A single large institutional deal can flip a whole day's net.
See the trading summary
The trading summary page shows buying, selling and the net for each group, with stocks shown apart from bonds and bills.
Check yourself
1. In a session, foreigners net bought 50 million and Arabs net sold 10 million. What was the Egyptian net?
2. Foreigners were net buyers today. What does that mean?
Summary
- Net = buying − selling for each group: Egyptian, Arab, foreign, individuals and institutions.
- Every trade has a buyer and a seller, so all the nets sum to zero.
- Separate stocks from bonds and bills, and look at weeks, not a day.