Egyptian stocks plunged nearly five percent on Wednesday, the most since May, a day after thousands took to the streets of Cairo and other cities in a protest against President Hosni Mubarak’s government.

The EGX 30 index declined 4.8 percent to 6,398.71 at 5:45 am EST. So far the index has declined around 10 percent this year.

Thousands of Egyptians across the nation staged protests on the streets against Hosni Mubarak’s regime demanding political concessions including ending emergency laws, freedom for political activity and a limit on the president’s tenure in office on Tuesday while the opposition called for protests to continue on Wednesday.

One police officer and two protesters were killed in Tuesday's violent clashes between police and demonstrators in Cairo and Suez respectively with more than 50 policemen wounded. However, the number of injured protesters in not known.

Meanwhile, embattled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son, who was thought to replace Mubarak in the upcoming elections, has fled the country, according to US-based Arabic website Akhbar al-Arab.

Gamal Mubarak, the politician son of the 82-year-old president, fled along with his family including his wife and daughter, several newspapers reported, citing the Akhbar al-Arab report, even as Egypt's 'day of rage' bloomed in fearsome fashion at Cairo's al-Tahrir square where more than 30,000 protesters bayed for the end of Mubarak's rule.

Earlier there were unconfirmed reports that Mubarak's wife had also fled to London on Tuesday as nationwide protests swelled and three people, including a police officer, were reportedly killed.

Elections Egyptian Revolt Elections Egypt