Egypt stocks plunge after Mursi power grab

* Stocks plunge nearly 10 pct on Mursi decree

* "We are back to square one" - trader

* Activists camp for 3rd day, Mursi meets advisors

* Rival protests set for Tuesday

CAIRO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Egypt's stock market plunged on

Sunday in its first day open since Islamist President Mohamed

Mursi seizure of new powers set off street violence and a

political crisis, unravelling efforts to restore stability after

last year's revolution.

More than 500 people have been injured in protests since

Friday, when Egyptians awoke to news that Mursi had issued a

decree widening his powers and shielding them from judicial

review.

Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood supporters were expected to turn

out again on the streets in a show of support after prayers on

Sunday afternoon. His supporters and opponents are both planning

massive demonstrations on Tuesday that many fear will lead to

more violence.

Sunday's stock market fall of nearly 10 percent - halted

only by automatic curbs - was the worst since the uprising that

toppled Hosni Mubarak in Feb 2011. Images of protesters clashing

with riot police and tear gas wafting through Cairo's Tahrir

Square were an unsettling reminder of that revolution.

"We are back to square one, politically, socially," said

Mohamed Radwan of Pharos Securities, an Egyptian brokerage firm.

Judges announced on Saturday they would go on strike.

Liberal politician Mohammed ElBaradei called Mursi a "dictator".

Forged out of the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood, the Mursi

administration has defended his decree as an effort to speed up

reforms that will complete Egypt's democratic transformation.

Yet leftists, liberals, socialists and others say it has

exposed the autocratic impulses of a man once jailed by Mubarak,

while Islamist parties have rallied behind Mursi.

"There is no room for dialogue when a dictator imposes the

most oppressive, abhorrent measures and then says 'let us split

the difference'," prominent opposition leader ElBaradei said.

"I am waiting to see, I hope soon, a very strong statement

of condemnation by the U.S., by Europe and by everybody who

really cares about human dignity," he said in an interview with

Reuters and the Associated Press.

Activists opposed to the Mursi decree were camped out in

central Cairo for a third consecutive day. State media reported

that Mursi met for a second day with his advisers.

"I am really afraid that the two camps are paving the way

for violence," said Hassan Nafaa, a professor of political

science at Cairo University. "Mursi has misjudged this, very

much so. But forcing him again to relinquish what he has done

will appear a defeat."

WARNINGS FROM WEST

Mursi's decree drew warnings from Western countries to

uphold democracy, a day after he had received glowing tributes

from the United States and others for his work brokering a deal

to end eight days of violence between Israel and Hamas.

"Investors know that Mursi's decisions will not be accepted

and that there will be clashes on the street," said Osama Mourad

of Arab Financial Brokerage.

Investors had grown more confident in recent months that a

legitimately elected government would help Egypt put its

economic and political problems behind it. The stock market's

main index had risen 35 percent since Mursi's victory.

Just last week, investor confidence was helped by a

preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund over

a $4.8 billion loan needed to shore up state finances.

Issued late on Thursday, the Mursi decree marks an effort to

consolidate his influence after he successfully sidelined

Mubarak-era generals in August. Analysts say it reflects Muslim

Brotherhood suspicions of sections of a judiciary that is

largely unreformed from the Mubarak era.

The decree defends from judicial review decisions taken by

Mursi until a new parliament is elected. That vote is expected

early next year.

It also shields the Islamist-dominated assembly writing

Egypt's new constitution from a raft of legal challenges that

have threatened the body with dissolution, and offers the same

protection to the Islamist-controlled upper house of parliament.

Many of Mursi's political opponents share the view that

Egypt's judiciary needs reform. But they see the decree as a

threat to the country's nascent democracy.

(Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-stocks-plunge-mursi-power-grab-123614296--business.html

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