Market Report: Tahrir sit-in gives Egyptian stocks little room for manoeuvre

Ongoing protests in Cairo and Suez spur a slowdown in trade on Egypt's Bourse and a 1.67 per cent dip for the main index

Blocked streets and stalled industry acted to choke the Egyptian stock market on Sunday as ongoing protests in Cairo and Suez prompted investors to retreat, cutting market turnover and squeezing the main index.
After a half-hour opening surge the benchmark EGX30 slid for the rest of the day, finishing 1.67 per cent down at 5,270.66 points.
"We could think of traffic movement as a kind of reflection of the stock market," says Isaa Fathy, vice president of the securities division at the Chamber of Commerce. "When the roads are blocked at Tahrir or the Suez Canal sees problems then high-cap trades seize up too."
Tens of thousands of protesters converged on Cairo's central Tahrir Square on 'Determination Friday', re-establishing a sit-in to demand Egypt's ruling military follow through on its promises. The protest is still underway.
Workers striking in Suez and Ain Sokhna for better pay and conditions also stepped up their actions at the weekend, cutting major travel arteries and closing one port. On Sunday some protesters threatened to block roads to Canal or even movement on the waterway itself, Egypt's main source of foreign revenue. Just after 5pm the military moved to disperse protesters.
Market turnover totalled a low LE371.228 million on the first day of trading since the start of Cairo protests. From 179 listed stocks, 54 gained and 111 declined in value, although the broader EGX70 saw a modest 0.3 per cent rise.
"We're seeing a reflection of the political crisis. It's affecting negatively the value of the market and caused today's low turnover," says Fathy.
Moderate losses spread across all sectors with the exception of chemicals. Real estate bore the brunt, with last week's court ruling in favour of the head of property giant Palm Hills failing to stem its 1.65 per cent loss. Fellow high-caps SODIC and the Talaat Moustafa Group performed even worse, dipping 5.64 and 4.92 per cent respectively.
With Arabs and individual traders the day's only net-buyers, top gains were spread amongst lower-cap firms, spurring the rise in the EGX70.
The day's winner was Alexandria Mineral Oil Company, climbing 6.32 per cent after a financial statement from the company claimed net profits had surged 89 per cent to LE1.05 billion.
Canal Shipping Agencies saw unexpected gains too, up 6.17 per cent despite new of continuing unrest in Suez -- a response Fathy called a "freak" occurence and not reflective of the political situation.
More representative was the effect of industrial unrest on factory owners such as Orascom Construction, Egypt's largest listed firm, which slipped 1.32 per cent.
"Workers who are coming from Suez couldn't make it to the factories in Sokhna because the road was blocked," a human resources representative with one of Orascom's factories told Ahram Online.
"Those workers who came from Cairo to work in the fertiliser plant have been there from yesterday and have had to double their shifts."
Industry, travel and stocks are all hanging on decisions from on high, believes Fathy.
"We are waiting on a reaction from the cabinet and military [to the protests]. Future movement of the market depends almost entirely on the political situation," he says.