Confidence in the market is slowly being restored with the introduction of the previously halted intraday trading and the introduction for the first time of short selling Egypt's stock market rose 1.14 per cent in the midweek session, with the benchmark EGX30 index reaching 5,613 points on the back of news of the introduction of new trading techniques and a surge in leading shares. The Exchange's head, Mohamed Abdel Salam, announced on Tuesday that the Bourse will introduce intraday trading and short-selling in the first days of July. “Such news gives the impression that the market is recovering; it restores investors' confidence” said Issa Fathy, vice president of securities division in the Chamber of Commerce. Intraday trading has been halted since the stock exchange was reopened in March, following the uprising that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak. A short selling system has been studied since 2008, with the intention of launching it by the end of 2010, which never came about. Other experts downplay the news' effect on Tuesday's market movement, attributing the growth to a general upward trend in the Bourse. “I don't think the news really affected today's growth. It is the recovery of stocks which have plummeted in the past few months,” said Walaa Hazem, asset manager at HC securities. Hazem refers to securities such as Palm Hills, Commercial International Bank and Talaat Mostafa group, which have declined since March but have started to recover lately. Trading in shares of Commercial International Bank led the growth in the market today with LE48.1 million, finishing up 2.11 per cent. Market turnover hit the 645 million mark, an above average volume in post-revolution terms. “High turnover is a very good indicator that the market's performance is improving,” Fathy adds. Out of 182 traded shares, 97 finished in the green while 75 declined. Most sectors gained, except chemicals, personal products, and food and beverages. Basic resources continued to be the highest gaining sectors at 2.7 per cent, due to the surge in steel stocks, namely Ezz Steel and El-Dekheila, gaining 3.18 per cent and 2.30 per cent respectively. The financial services sector (excluding banks) was the second highest gainer at 2.28 percent; mainly driven by growth in Pioneers holding and Citadel Capital by 6.23 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively. Citadel Capital, EFG Hermes and palm hills were also among the highest gainers with 5.2 per cent, 3.52 per cent and 3.18 per cent respectively. The broader index, EGX70 did not gain as much, with only 0.24 per cent growth.
