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Market Report: Egyptian stocks take tiny loss amid renewed caution Small gains and dips likely for a while as traders await improvements in economy and security
Egypt's benchmark index shed 0.03 per cent to close at 5,300 points in the final trading day of the week, as stock market investors showed renewed caution after Wednesday's buying splurge. The week saw three days of modest losses on the main index, reversed yesterday when the EGX30 gained 1.9 per cent following news of former president Hosni Mubarak's detention. Thursday saw a strong opening climb for the main index but it quickly tailed off. "We will be in this range [of small gains and losses] for a while," says Walaa Hazem, financial analyst at HC Securities. "The market picked up yesterday, but this is not a one-day thing -- investors are worried about the economy and security and these take time to change." The broader EGX70 and EGX100 edged up 0.2 and 0.25 per cent respectively. Of 177 listed stocks, 86 gained and 75 declined in a day in which LE663,610,892 changed hands. Political developments impacted on stocks, as Citadel Capital private equity dropped 7.96 per cent after a travel ban was slapped on its CEO, Ahmed Heikal, currently under investigation for his alleged role in the privatisation and sale of state companies. Real estate also felt the heat, as stock in Egyptian for Tourism Resorts lost 7.83 per cent after the country's tourist development authority cancelled the company's acquistion of 20 million square metres of land on the Red Sea. The recent arrest of owner and NDP member Ibrahim Kamel, accused of masterminding attacks on protesters, has added to uncertainty over the company's prospects. "Companies whose owners have political cases against them are definitely seeing problems on the market," says Hazem. "Prices may be low but people are not interested in buying cheap stocks with high political risk until they know the real impact of the revolution." The food and beverage industry saw the best performers, with The Arab Dairy Products Co. gaining 9.7 per cent and AJWA for Food Industries up 8.18 per cent. Construction and materials and telecommunications also finished in the green. Egyptian traders continued to dominate, making up 71.6 per cent of trade and net-buys of LE46.2 million. Foreigners and non-Egyptian Arabs were net-sellers. Individual traders crowded out institutions to represent 64.5 per cent of Thursday trade, their interest in smaller-cap firms boosting the wider stock indexes into the green.
