Egypt's stocks slipped on Sunday ahead of the Islamic Eid El-Fitr holiday, recording a modest daily turnover of LE301.2 million. "The feeble turnover shows that most investors have begun their holiday and this also explains the main index decline," Eissa Fathy, the vice head of the securities division at Cairo Chamber of Commerce told Ahram Online. The market's benchmark EGX30 shed 0.1 percent registering 8,735 points, seeing foreign investors as net buyers for the fourth consecutive session. However, Egyptians remain net sellers with LE8.7 million. The broader index EGX70 inched 0.4 percent. The market's bellwether Commercial International Bank (CIB) dipped 0.7 percent to close at LE40.50 per share. Real estate developer stocks all dropped, led by Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG), which fell 0.8 percent to close at LE9.29 per share. Palm Hills Development (PHD) and Six of October Development and Investment (SODIC) slumped 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent registering LE4.16 per share and LE38.12 per share respectively. Egyptian Financial Group, Hermes Holding Company (EFG-Hermes) rose one percent to close at LE15.83 per share. EFG Hermes Holding announced on Sunday the sale of 36.96 million treasury shares EGP15.32 per share. "The company goes through buying its treasury shares, when it wants its financial position to be better," Fathy clarified. "So, EFG-Hermes bought its treasury shares in February and will sell them now, achieving a profit worth more than LE4 per share." The Egyptian stock exchange and all banks operating in the country are to close for three days from 28 to 30 July. The closure recognizes a public holiday for Eid El-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/107212.aspx
