Egypt stocks hiked on Monday over news about Egypt's National Société Générale Bank (NSGB) acquisition by Qatar National Bank (QNB). The main index EGX30 jumped 0.51 per cent recording 5,638.71 pointed. Daily turnover increased significantly compared to Sunday's session reaching some LE311 million. News spread in the market after opening Monday that QNB and NSGB reached a final agreement on the purchase of Société Générale's Egyptian arm. The news was later denied by NSGB, however investors remained positive as the transaction was not cancelled despite a recent governmental decision of imposing capital gains on IPOs. QNB should present its offer to acquire NSGB within 60 days of the date of expression of interest, set for 22 November. ''Other shares got contagious by NSGB and, since the banking sector has a big influence on the market, the market went up,'' says Issa Fathi, vice president of securities division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce. ''The news that the transaction will be carried out, however, was a good indicator for investors that enterprises won't pull off,'', added Issa Fathi. NSGB shares gained 2.84 per cent to close at LE45.27. The banking sector followed NSGB. Big cap Commercial International Bank (Egypt) led the market in terms of turnover recording LE33.71million, gaining 0.65 per cent. Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) and Telecom Egypt gained 0.16 and 0.79 per cent respectively. The broader index, the EGX70, gained 0.22 per cent. Out of 161 stocks traded on the day, 69 gained in value and 61 declined. Foreigners closed as the only net buyers as opposed to domestic investors and Arabs who closed as net sellers.
