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Egypt stocks record slight gains despite demos, counter-demos EGX30 index rises 0.81 pct on Tuesday, although ongoing political impasse is expected to take toll on market later this week
Egyptian stocks ended in the green on Tuesday, despite predictions by analysts that it would suffer losses due to planned million-man demonstrations and counter-demonstrations in Cairo. Egypt's benchmark EGX30 index climbed 0.81 per cent to reach 5016 points by the end of Tuesday's session. The broader-based EGX 70 index, meanwhile, rose by 0.89 per cent. "Despite the slight rise, the overall market performance can only be described as weak, as investors remain wary," said Ashraf Abdel-Aziz, head of institutional sales at Cairo-based brokerage Arabeya Online. "The political situation remains volatile, and is, needless to say, still affecting the stock market," added Abdel-Aziz. Of 170 listed stocks, 92 registered gains while only 29 suffered losses. Blue-chip stocks Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) and Commercial International Bank (CIB) both rose in value, by 2 per cent and 0.21 per cent respectively. Daily turnover, meanwhile, remained low, standing at a meagre LE166 million for the day, one of the lowest rates seen in the past three months. "The low trade volume indicates that the market is unable to overcome ongoing political developments; these extremely low turnover levels are quite alarming," asserted Abdel-Aziz. Foreign investors were heavy net sellers on Tuesday, offloading some LE79 million worth of shares. Bucking a weeklong trend, meanwhile, Egyptian and Arab investors were net buyers for the day, picking up a total of LE76 million and LE3 million respectively. The stock market is expected to suffer in coming days, as Egypt's ongoing political faceoff continues to escalate, with opposing political camps continuing to organise mass rallies. The real estate sector saw modest gains, with market giant Talaat Mostafa Group Holding (TMGH) not registering any changes from yesterday's session, and Palm Hills rising by only 1 per cent. Heavyweight stock Telecom Egypt, for its part, fell by 0.57 per cent for the day. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/60293.aspx
