Egypt's stock exchange suspended trade for half an hour on Wednesday shortly after reopening for trade following a seven-week closure due to political turmoil.

Acting exchange chairman Mohamed Abdel Salam told Al Arabiya televsion trading would continue to the end of the session once it resumed after the half-hour suspension.

Under circuit breaker rules, if the index falls a total 10 per cent after the suspension ends it is up to the chairman to decide whether to allow trading to continue. The session was set to close at 1130GMT.

Major Egyptian shares plunged when the stock exchange reopened. Commercial International Bank, Orascom Construction Industries and Telecom Egypt all fell 10 per cent.

The exchange suspended trade on the whole market for a half hour after the broad index fell 7.0 per cent.-Reuters