Egypt's stock exchange continues in the red, losing 2.74 per cent on the main index, the EGX30, following unrest in parts of the country and negative companies' results The Egyptian bourse ended in the red for the fourth session consecutively after the Eid Al-Adha holiday on Monday, following the perpetuation of violent outbreaks in several governorates. The benchmark EGX30 lost 2.74 per cent to record 4,294.19 points. From the day's 171 listed stocks, 111 declined in value and 39 gained, reflected in the broader EGX70 which fell 0.77 per cent. “All investors are depressed by what has happened in Egyptian governorates since Sunday, whether they are buyers or sellers. Uncertainty is ruling,” stated Ashraf Abdel-Aziz, head of Institution Sales at Arabeyya Online Securities. All sectors slipped or remained stagnant except personal and household products. Out of 176 listed stocks the day, 167 declined in value, six remained unchanged, while only four gained. All the EGX30 index companies, the most active, ended in the red. Negative company results did not help the market to recover, although experts say it did not affect the market negatively. “Financial results did not deeply shake the stocks…the market is used to it,” believes Ashraf Abdel-Aziz. Today, Telecom Egypt announced net profit drops by 21 per cent in the third quarter, while Talaat Moustafa Group, Egypt's biggest listed developer, posted a 43 per cent decline in its 2011 nine month net profit. Telecom Egypt, one of the biggest caps, lost 2.2 per cent. Other blue chips Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) and Commercial International Bank registered losses of 1.57 and 2.93 per cent respectively. The top losers of the day are Egyptian Chemical Industries (Kima), Export Development Bank of Egypt (EDBE) and Amer Group Holding, which all lost more than 9 per cent. Top gainers, or to be more precise, the sole gainers, are Olympic Group Financial Investments, Nile Pharmaceuticals, Oriental Weavers, Suez Canal Bank and Natural Gas & Mining Project (Egypt Gas). They gained between 3.97 and 0.12 per cent. “These shares are illiquid shares, so they did not need a large volume of trading to be pushed up,” explained Abdel-Aziz. Egyptians made up to 66.83 per cent of the day's trade and were net buyers. Other Arabs and foreign investors, in contrast, were net sellers. “SCAF's decision to close Agrium factory is a negative indicator for foreign investments in Egypt, and that's why we see foreigners as only net sellers,” said Abdel-Aziz, adding that the EGX70 listed stocks were the worst performers regardless of the fact that individuals were net buyers. The broader EGX70 fell 4.95 per cent, and EGX100 lost 3.82 per cent. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/26543.aspx
