Egypt's stocks declined on Wednesday as profit-taking interrupted the rise of blue chips which had buoyed the market in recent sessions. The main EGX30 was down 0.42 percent to 9,718 while the broader EGX70 index fell 0.96 percent as Egyptian investors were the only net-sellers for LE51.8 million, and institutions represented 40 percent of the market. "Shareholders of securities that have been rising to critical price levels in the past days, like CIB, EFG-Hermes, and Medinet Nasr, turned to profit-taking, pulling the market down," Eissa Fathy, vice president of the securities division at Cairo's Chamber of Commerce, told Ahram Online. Cairo-based investment bank EFG-Hermes saw its share price drop 2.65 percent to LE19.09 after having lifted the market in past sessions, as well as Medinet Nasr Housing, which fell 2.17 percent to trade at LE47.40. Market bellwether Commercial International Bank (CIB) dropped 1.19 percent to LE49.68. Other blue chips saw gains, such as property developer TMG Holding which rose 2.40 percent to LE11.52. El Sewedy Electric, which had reported a 38 percent rise in net profits year-on-year in Q4 earlier this month, saw its share price leap 7.61 percent to trade at LE46.8. The majority of EGX30's shares were in the red, including Ezz Steel, which dropped 2.11 percent to LE18.57. In the real estate sector, Six of October Development and Investment Company, (SODIC) was down 1.03 percent to LE47.11. Palm Hills Development Company dropped 1.58 percent to LE4.35. Total turnover registered a modest LE651 million. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/111610.aspx
