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Market Report: Curfew lift isn't enough for stocks to clear the red End of nighttime restrictions signal the prospect of great stability for foreign investors but fail to perk up a stagnant trading day
Egypt's stock market reversed its northern direction in the last session of the week with the EGX30 index falling 0.37 per cent to record 5,541.64 points. Despite the decline in Thursdays session there was a slight upward edge in the main index compared to the 0.94 per cent drop of the day before. Of 184 listed stocks, 83 gained value and 91 declined in LE683.2 million (US$115.7mn) of total equities trades. Egyptians were the only net-buyers taking on LE89mn in shares, while Arabs and foreigners were net-sellers of LE5.9m and LE83.1m respectively. "The news of the curfew cancellation has increased investors' trust in the market and that helped the high market activity both small and big shares have seen," says Ashraf Abdul Aziz, head of institutions sales at Arabia Online "Cancelling the curfew means -- especially for foreigners and Arabs -- the start of the stability necessary for investment." Individuals were net-buyers of LE 54.7mn as opposed to institutions which were net-sellers. "The individuals' high activity in today's session also helped boost market turnover,” says Abdul Aziz. Pioneers Holding was one of the top gainers after a series of losses, its shares jumping 6 per cent. Real estate was among the gaining sectors with activity in heavyweight shares TMG (up 2.7 per cent) and Palm Hills (ups 3.2 per cent) combining to LE60.4 million in turnover. "I can't find clear reasons for this unexpected activity, but real estate benchmarks had attractive share prices today -- below LE5, like Palm Hills and Egyptian Resorts -- which have attracted individuals." Ezz Steel continued moving up, gaining 1.3 per cent and leading the basic resources sector into the green. Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) plunged 1.1 per cent. All shares of the telecoms sector saw dips, with OT down 0.4 per cent, (Mobinil 0.5 per cent and Telecom Egypt 0.8 per cent. The broader EGX70 and EGX100 indices also saw modest losses, down 0.09 per cent and 0.2 per cent.
