(Others) – The Egyptian bourse registered gains for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, pushed up by news of Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris' offer to buy a 30 per cent stake in Italy's largest telecoms operator. The benchmark EGX30 index rose by 0.81 per cent to reach 5,684 points. Daily turnover increased slightly to LE351.8 million, although this remains far from the LE1 billion seen in September. Shares in Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding rose by 3.39 per cent for the day, driven by news that its chairman had expressed interest in investing more than 2 billion euro in Milan-based Telecom Italia. Orascom Telecom Holding (OT), meanwhile, gained some 1.91 per cent. News about fixed-line provider Telecom Egypt (TE) being in advanced talks with the government about a deal that would allow it to provide mobile services failed to help company shares, which lost 0.21 per cent for the day. TE also announced a 3 per cent rise in quarterly profits to some LE633 million (roughly $104 million), compared with an average forecast of LE625 million by a number of analysts polled by Reuters. Blue-chip stock Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), for its part, gained 1.49 per cent, while Commercial International Bank (Egypt) declined by 0.44 per cent. The financial sector led the market in terms of turnover, at LE69.3 million, representing 20 per cent of total market activity. The telecom sector followed, registering LE53.05 million in turnover and representing some 15 per cent of market activity. Of 170 stocks traded on Tuesday, 114 gained in value and 33 declined. The broader-based EGX70 index, meanwhile, rose by 1.11 per cent for the day, bolstered by net-buying on the part of local investors. Foreign investors were also net buyers, while non-Egyptian Arab investors closed the day as net sellers.
