Market Report: Egypt stocks roll back losses, finish week on a high

Main index completely reverses early-week losses to close Thursday up 2.4 per cent, as bargain-priced stocks tempt local and regional investors

Egyptian stocks surged back into the green on Thursday, as preparations for parliamentary elections helped push aside concerns after the weekend's fatal clashes and encouraged investors to scoop up bargain high-cap stocks.
The benchmark EGX30 finished the last trading day of the week up 2.38 per cent at 4,147 points -- a higher level than it started on Sunday.
The climb meant the index has completely reversed Monday's plunge which came in the wake of a bloody crackdown by armed forces upon mainly Copt protesters in central Cairo.
"The fact that elections haven't been postponed after Sunday's incidents assured investors about the shape of Egypt's future," said Mohamed Metwally, a trader at Prime Securities.
Candidates for Egypt's parliamentary elections began registering on Wednesday. The elections, set to start 30 November, will be the first ones for the People's
Assembly since the 18-day uprising that eventually ousted President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February.
Sluggish steps towards democracy may have provided the background to the day's revival, but it was the low prices of stocks that were chiefly responsible, believes Metwally.
“The EGX30 had fallen to nearly 3,800 points -- investors know that real value of stocks is far above that," he said. "A rebound had to happen."
The trading boards were splashed in green: of the 185 listed stocks, 161 gained and just 9 declined, with healthcare and pharmaceuticals the only sector to record an overall loss.
Trading volume was LE413.9 million, up 30 per cent on the day before, with a significant amount of cross-trading in the market's high-cap shares.
Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) saw the most trade -- some LE77m, or 18 per cent of the market -- and finished the day up 5.6 per cent.
"OCI has been performing steadily over the past months, with the announcement of major projects and sold profits," said Metwally. "Its lowest valuation is at LE269 per share, which is still significantly higher that its current market price."
Other heavyweight gainers included mobile services provider Mobinil, up 4.3 per cent, and financial institutions Pioneers Holding and Commercial International Bank, which rose 3.8 and 2.5 per cent respectively.
The market might have climbed higher yet, said traders, had it not been for the more restrained performance of Orascom Telecom, which gained just 1.58 per cent
On Thursday, the communications giants announced its plans to merge assets into a new firm by the end of the year; a decision that has upset some Orascom minorities who are mounting a legal challenge.
In contrast, state-owned Telecom Egypt managed to grow 2.55 per cent to close at LE14.87 per share, despite the launch of strikes demanding the removal of the company's chairman.
"A company such as TE, which has a monopoly over landlines in Egypt is not affected by such news, it has a very firm stand in the market," explained Metwally, saying these stocks were also significantly undervalued.
Foreigners continued their retreat on Thursday, making up 33 per cent of trade, and net-selling some LE55.037m. Arab investors made an unusually strong showing, buying a net total of LE48.46m, while Egyptians made a rather more sluggish LE6.58m of net-buys.