Egypt's main index, EGX 30, closed the day up 1.09% at 6.762.44 points. “The big volume of transactions implemented by institutions today was one of the main reasons which led to the rise," said Mohamed Sebaie, a senior broker at HSBC Capital. Construction material blue chips pushed the index up on the first day of the week. A total of75,306million shares were exchanged at a total value of EGP692,463million. “The end of the political concern will help the market to progress further," said financial advisor Kamal Mahgoub, referring to Egypt's parliamentary elections, which ended today. The upward trend in the construction materials sector followed the news that Qatar would be the 2022 World Cup host. Analysts today said that investors have high hopes that Egyptian companies will contribute to the infrastructure and construction "bonanza" in Qatar, which has announced major construction plans ahead of the Cup. Orascom for Construction and Industries (OCI) and Ezz Steel are anticipated to be among the major contributors. Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) spearheaded the leading blue chips and rose up 4.05% to EGP 269, despite a workers sit-in at one of its production plants, Steel Fabrication Factory, that entered its 11th day today. Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) ranked second, adding 0.71% to EGP 4.23. The heavy-weight Commercial International Bank (CIB) reached EGP 41.70, leading the banking sector to close on a green note. Retail investors, who tended towards selling, controlled 61.6% of total trading. Institutional traders dominated, with 38.3% and a buying spree. Foreigners were inclined towards buying today, with a buy/sell difference of EGP 148.16 million. Conversely, nationals and Arabs headed towards offloading their equities. The construction sector was the most active, dominating 20.22% of total turnover. It was followed by banks. Sharm Dreams was the top mover to the upside, soaring 12.88%. It was followed by Egyptian Gulf Bank that surged 8.8%. On the bleak side, General Land Reclamation placed the biggest drag on the overall index, with its 7.29% plunge. (Additional reporting by Yomna Abou Auf).
