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Market Report: Egypt stocks soar further 2.4 per cent as investors eye political stability Bourse continues its rally with turnover climbing to its highest level in three months as buyers take heart from relatively trouble-free elections
Egypt stocks continued their rally Tuesday as investors took heart from the country's latest phase of trouble-free elections, pouring in extra funds for a wave of sales that pushed the main index firmly into the green for its second consecutive session. The benchmark EGX30 climbed 2.36 per cent to close at 3,735.6 points, with market turnover climbing to LE259.4 million, its highest level in some three months. "The market is recovering strongly and building on yesterday's gains. Heavyweight shares are seeing heavy trading," says Mostafa Badra, a capital markets expert. The apparent success of Egypt's political transition is gradually restoring investors' confidence in the market, he believes. "Investors are starting to feel political stability now we've seen the last day of [lower house] parliament elections and the resultant promise of economic aid from countries like the US and Qatar." Gains were much more evenly distributed than on Monday, with 143 of the day's 174 listed stocks finishing in the green — a performance that pushed the broader EGX70 up 2.04 per cent. Egyptians were the day's sole net-buyers, snapping up LE16.999 million worth of stock. Shares in mobile phone operator Mobinil recorded the day's highest turnover — LE39.99 million — but closed the day down a marginal 0.13 per cent. "Most people trading in Mobinil are foreigners, and they were net-sellers so the share fell a fraction," explains Badra. Non-Arabs made up 38 per cent of the day's trade. Performing much more impressively were construction giant OCI, up 3.54 per cent, and high-cap real estate firms, TMG and SODIC, up 6.05 and 6.32 per cent respectively. Both property firms have taken a battering over the last 11 months, making the relatively low prices of their shares an attractive proposition for resurgent investors, according to Badra. Other major stocks seeing gains were Ezz Steel, up 2.72 per cent, and the Commercial International Bank which climbed 2.55. Orascom Development Holding was one of the few better-known stock to take a loss, slipping 1.83 per cent. Earlier on Tuesday, the Swiss-based resorts developer said its vice chairman and co-chief executive officer Amr Sheta will leave his post on 7 May. The food and beverage sector was the only one to take an overall loss, in a mirror image of its performance last week when it was the sole gainer -- a sign, said Badry, of a new wave of profit-taking.
