The Nasdaq Composite Index touched a record level during Tuesday’s session for the first time since early June, with technology stocks recovering some of their previous losses, while the decline in oil prices strengthened investors’ appetite for high-risk assets.
The index rose in its latest trading by 0.3 percent to 27,212.68 points, exceeding the previous highest record level during the session at 27,190.21 points, which it recorded on June 1, according to Reuters.
Oil prices fell to their lowest levels in two weeks, after Iran indicated the possibility of reopening the Strait of Hormuz soon, which supported global markets.
Technology stocks, which led US markets to record levels this year, have returned to the forefront as demand for artificial intelligence technologies continues without signs of decline, in addition to the steadfastness of companies’ business results.
The market value of chipmaker AMD exceeded $1 trillion on Monday, with shares of chip companies rising, pushing the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index to its highest level in more than a month.
The index closed on July 17, down more than 20 percent from its record peak, entering the bear market range.
High oil prices and concerns about ballooning government debt pushed US Treasury bond yields to their highest levels in several years earlier this month, putting pressure on stocks that achieved strong gains, including memory chip manufacturers that have recorded remarkable increases since the beginning of the year.
Nasdaq recording this level represents a strong recovery for the index, which is heavy on technology stocks, after it briefly declined by more than 10 percent from the highest level it recorded during the session in late July, amid fears that increased spending on artificial intelligence would affect the profitability of companies, with returns not being achieved as quickly as the markets had expected.
The Standard & Poor's 500 and Dow Jones indices had already reached record levels in early August, making the Nasdaq the last major indices to regain record levels.
By 09:32 a.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 155.42 points, or 0.30 percent, to 52,204.25 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 14.39 points, or 0.19 percent, to 7,779.09 points, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 89.57 points, or 0.33 percent, to 27,211.66 points.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1.88 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, and by a ratio of 1.78 to 1 on the Nasdaq.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index recorded 5 companies at new lows in 52 weeks, without recording any new highs, while the Nasdaq Composite index recorded 12 new highs and 26 new lows.
The tourism sector in Egypt is witnessing remarkable growth and resilience despite the regional tensions and geopolitical circumstances that the region is going through. The Egyptian Cabinet Media Center published indicators of incoming tourism and tourism revenues, and the expectations of international institutions for the sector’s performance during the coming period.
The indicators of the tourism and travel sector in Egypt reflect its ability to continue growth and resilience despite regional tensions, in parallel with the expansion of hotel capacity and the increase in the number of rooms and hotels, coinciding with expectations of improvement in the sector’s indicators in the coming years, according to an infographic published by the Media Council of the Egyptian Council of Ministers on social media platforms.
The current year witnessed an increase in the number of hotels and rooms being built in Egypt, as the number of hotels being built rose to 185 hotels with a total of 46 thousand rooms, compared to 143 hotels with 33.9 thousand rooms in 2025.
Egyptian tourism expert, Ayman Al-Taranisi, believes that “the data contained in the publication show an unprecedented boom in hotel investment in Egypt. “The indicators recorded successive jumps in the number of hotels and rooms being built to keep pace with the increasing tourist flows,” he added to Asharq Al-Awsat: “These massive logistical expansions come in parallel with a tangible jump in the numbers of tourists arriving to the country. Which directly contributed to maximizing the tourism revenues generated.”
Despite regional tensions, Egypt witnessed an increase in inbound tourism, as the number of tourists increased to 12.7 million tourists during the period from January to August 2026, compared to 12.2 million tourists during the same period in 2025. Tourism revenues also increased to $12 billion during the period from January to August 2026, compared to $11.8 billion during the same period in 2025.
Egypt is betting on the diversity of its tourist destinations and types, as part of a propaganda plan previously launched by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities under the title “Egypt... incomparable diversity,” between cultural, recreational, environmental, therapeutic, sports, religious, safari, conferences, and others. It is also betting on promoting Egyptian tourist destinations through international exhibitions and events.
The World Travel and Tourism Council expected the tourism and travel sector in Egypt to grow by 3 percent in 2026, despite geopolitical tensions, with the sector’s gross domestic product expected to increase to $35.4 billion in 2026, compared to $34.4 billion in 2025, in addition to an increase in the number of workers in the sector to 3.03 million workers in 2026, compared to 2.97 million workers. The year 2025, according to the infographic.
Al-Taranisi explains that “the indicators were not limited to current numbers, but rather extended to the expectations of decision-makers and international institutions. The World Travel and Tourism Council and the International Monetary Fund affirmed the steadfastness of the sector and the continuation of its upward path, with expectations of a continuous increase in the gross domestic product, employment rates, and the provision of job opportunities, in addition to long-term revenue growth,” pointing out that “these indicators prove that Egyptian tourism is no longer just a seasonal sector, but rather a strategic pillar and a solid industry capable of transforming regional challenges into sustainable investment and development opportunities,” as he put it.
A few days ago, Egypt won the French Syndicate of Tour Operators (SETO) award for the best partnership with a tourist destination for the year 2026, after topping the annual vote of the union members and obtaining the largest number of votes out of about 140 tourist destinations that French tour operators deal with and promote throughout the year.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund’s forecasts confirm that the tourism sector in Egypt has remained steadfast despite the uncertainty associated with regional tensions, with expectations of tourism revenues increasing from $19.9 billion last year to $20.8 billion this year, then to $22.9 billion in 2027-2028, $25.4 billion in 2028-2029, and $27.9 billion in 2029. 2030, reaching $29.8 billion in 2030-2031.
Egypt aspires to increase the number of incoming tourists to reach 30 million tourists by 2030 in accordance with the announced plan and strategy of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the statements of the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, after Egypt witnessed surges in the numbers of incoming tourists during recent years despite the tensions taking place in the region.
At a time when escalating regional tensions are raising fears in Egypt of a new rise in prices, despite government reassurances, repeated media warnings about preparing for major crises have been met with great concern, raising questions about the “worst-case scenario” that Egypt must prepare for.
Egyptians' fears of rising prices for goods and services coincided with fluctuations in the exchange rate over the past few days. After a wave of successive rises for the dollar to exceed the 52-pound barrier, the US currency declined yesterday (Monday) to about 51.90 pounds.
Media conversations also caused concern in the country, as journalist Amr Adeeb said, during his recent televised program, that this period from now until the end of the year will witness “very difficult economic conditions” at the global level, calling on citizens to pay attention to economic developments around the world and their potential effects. He continued: “There are economic bumps ahead, especially in light of the rise in oil prices and the disruptions in trade, energy, and finance.”
Meanwhile, the journalist Ahmed Moussa pointed out on his television program during the past few days that “the developments of the last hours in Europe included calls in Britain and a number of European countries for citizens to store quantities of food, water, and medicines,” considering that these movements “raise questions about what the coming period may witness,” asking: “What is coming?” Is there a war with Russia? Is there a problem happening in the world? "No one knows what's coming next."
Meanwhile, the journalist Nashaat Al-Daihi also warned through his program of “the repercussions of raising interest rates globally to confront inflation, in conjunction with the rise in oil, gas and energy prices.” He said: “The rise in interest rates in major economies may push hot money to search for higher returns in the United States and Europe,” repeating the phrase “May God protect us,” as he put it, which has raised many questions and fears.
Al-Daihi later clarified that his statements were taken out of context, and he said during his program, on Sunday evening, that his speech was related to the global economy and not “the Egyptian economy,” stressing that his use of the phrase (may God protect us) was intended to be “the impact of global economic developments on Egypt” and not “to express pessimism about the Egyptian economy.”
The “worst scenario” that Egypt must prepare for, in the opinion of economist Wael El Nahhas, is “the escalation of the war, the sudden exit of hot money from the country, the impact of dollar resources, and a shortage of cash liquidity in the banks.”
But Al-Nahhas told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The government certainly has a strategy to deal with this scenario,” stressing that “there is another scenario, which is for tensions in the region to calm down, sparing Egypt and many countries from violent economic repercussions.”
At the beginning of this month, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly spoke about the government developing different scenarios to deal with the repercussions of the war in the region, including the “worst scenario,” which is the continuation of the war for years, noting at the time the necessity of “preparing for the continuation of the current situation for years to come.”
The government seeks to contain the high price crisis in the country through a 6-month initiative to “pump basic commodities at reduced prices” with the aim of controlling markets, which began on September 10 and continues until March 2027.
Deputy Director of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Amr Hashim Rabie, believes that the “worst scenario” for Egypt is the escalation of regional tensions and their development into open military confrontations in the region. He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Egypt will be affected quickly, as the country’s hard currency income will decline, the value of the pound will fall, and supply chain confusion and global price increases will lead to a wave of high prices in Egypt.”
In Rabie’s opinion, if military confrontations in the region escalate, Egypt will have “limited economic options,” including “resorting to the International Monetary Fund, or selling assets,” but he stressed the existence of political options to deal with the effects, including “strengthening political efforts to limit the aggravation of the situation in the region.”
In addition to the economic fears, the media warnings sparked widespread controversy about what they meant, and a member of the House of Representatives, Irene Saeed, commented on her Facebook page on Monday, saying: “The amount of news about ‘Take caution, the coming is worse’ reminds me of the earthquake program when it alerted me 30 seconds before it.”
Meanwhile, journalist Mohamed Marhi defended the warnings issued by Egyptian media professionals, saying on the “X” platform that they were “based on data and indicators that are not reassuring in the regional and international scenes,” noting that “the sum of the data regarding the increasing escalation confirms that the coming months are not promising at all, and that all countries must be careful from now and prepare for what is coming.”
