Egypt's bourse fell slightly on Tuesday with experts saying the announced tax on stock market transactions will probably make investors more reluctant to enter the Egyptian market. A hot air balloon crash in Luxor on Tuesday, killing 18 tourists, also had negative repercussions on the market. Egypt's benchmark EGX30 index finished down 0.03 percent at 5,546 points on Tuesday. The broader EGX70 index registered a 0.47 percent gain. Out of 168 traded stocks, 81 suffered losses while 54 registered gains. Blue chip stocks Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) and Commercial International Bank (CIB) fell by 0.65 percent and 0.09 percent respectively. "Trading was almost nonexistent today, purchasing power is very weak, investors are definitely exiting the market and this trend will continue for the rest of this week," capital markets expert Mostafa Badra told Ahram Online. Egyptian and Arab investors were net sellers for the day, offloading almost LE1 million and LE4 million worth of stocks respectively. Foreign investors, meanwhile, were net buyers, picking up an insignificant LE5 million worth of shares. A 0.001 percent tax will be imposed on all stock market transactions, according to the government's economic recovery plan unveiled on Monday. "The planned tax is a huge blow to the stock market as it will add financial burdens on investors at a time when investment incentives are almost absent," Badra explained. Trade volume was a meagre LE204 million, highlighting wariness by traders due to the state of Egypt's economy. The real estate sector surprisingly registered gains with market giant Talaat Mostafa Group Holding (TMGH) rising 0.74 percent. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/65655.aspx
