Market Report: Stocks fall on 5th day of political turmoil

Real estate sector leads market decline on back of ongoing clashes between security forces and anti-govt activists

Egypt's stock market dipped into the red again on Tuesday with the benchmark EGX30 index falling 2.5 per cent to settle at 3,706 points following five days of clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters that have resulted in the death of 13 people until now.
“Foreign investors' fears are mounting every day; they are largely withdrawing from the market,” said market expert Mostafa Badra.
Foreigners were net sellers for the day at LE20.5 million in trades, while Egyptian investors, failing to balance the market, represented net buyers at LE13.1 million.
Even a government plan to save billions of pounds failed to capture the interest of traders. “Investors are only concerned with positive results,” Badra told Ahram Online.
Egypt's recently appointed prime minister, Kamal El-Ganzouri, approved LE20-LE22 billion in savings for the fiscal year 2011/12 at a cabinet meeting on Monday, Al-Ahram reported.
Broader-based indices also registered losses, with the EGX70 and the EGX100 declining by 3.3 and 3 per cent, respectively.
The market's overall capital shrunk by LE6.5 billion in Tuesday's session to reach a total of LE298.1 billion.
Most blue chips lost ground for the day, led by Commercial International Bank (CIB), which fell by 4.1 per cent. Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), meanwhile, dipped 1.7 per cent.
Real estate was the sector worst-hit by recent political turmoil. The Talaat Mustafa Group (TMG) saw a loss of 3.6 per cent for the day, followed by Palm Hills and SODIC, which were down 3.3 and 4.5 per cent, respectively.
Market giants EFG-Hermes, Ezz Steel and Telecom Egypt, meanwhile, all plunged by 3, 5.2 and 3.4 per cent, respectively.
Out of 176 stocks listed on the exchange, only four registered gains while 166 fell in a day that saw a mere LE183 million in turnover.