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Market Report: Egypt stocks rise as fears lift Main index gains 1.2 per cent on trade of major firms, as confidence grows that third-quarter results will signal a strong improvement in the country's revolution-battered economy
Egyptian stocks outpaced their regional rivals on Monday, gaining on optimism that company results would finally see improvements following seven months of economic pain in the aftermath of January's revolution. The EGX30 benchmark index rose 1.16 per cent to 4,716 points, adding to yesterday's 0.47 per cent upwards edge to take its gains to 5.3 percent since early August's two-year low. "There are good volumes going through the market," said CIBC trader Omar Darwish. "[Gains were] mainly driven by pre-earnings as everyone is looking forward to good third-quarter results." Total market turnover was LE368.16 million -- low by pre-revolution standards but a marked improvement on recent weeks where volume has falled to as little as LE220m, raising concern among brokerages and market officials. High-cap firms powered Monday's rise, which came despite an overall mixed trading board. From 177 listed stocks, 78 gained and 83 declined, with the broader EGX70 index taking a very modest 0.02 per cent loss. Climbs were spread between sectors, with chemicals, travel and leisure and healthcare the only ones to see losses. Orascom Construction, due to report results this week, rose 2.3 percent and dominated proceedings, responsible for nearly a tenth of the day's total trade.Arab Dairy Products was the day's biggest gainer -- up 9.5 per cent -- while cable-makers El Sewedy also gained 4.65 per cent. The strong performance for major firms reflecting increasing confidence that Egypt may have seen its worst economic turmoil for now. Smaller firms performed less ably, after weeks when several saw strong gains on speculative interest. Top loser on Monday was General Silos and Storage, down 5.5 per cent, and Kima, down 4.3 per cent. A modest upswing for Egypt's Bourse came while other regional markets stomached moderate losses, reflecting their reliance on specific industries. Saudi stocks declined on Monday as falling crude prices and worries over the global economy spurred selling, ending an early-week equity rally in the world's top oil exporter. Meanwhile, Dubai's real estate-stacked market took another dip, badly hit as property prices plunge more than half from their 2008 peaks.
