Profit-taking by investors led Egypt's indices to drop on Monday after significant gains made over the last three sessions. The benchmark EGX30 dropped 0.52 percent to sit at 6,644 points and the broader EGX70 index fell 0.37 percent, among low trading volumes, "a sign of profit-taking after high share price rises in a healthy market," Issa Fathy, vice president of the securities division at Cairo's Chamber of Commerce, told Ahram Online. "News that the date of the popular referendum on Egypt's new constitution was finally set buoyed the market last week as investors were reassured about the country's transitional path," explained Fathy. State news agency MENA had reported on Wednesday that interim President Adly Mansour would announce the date of the highly anticipated poll on Saturday. On Saturday, Mansour announced that voting would take place on 14-15 January, 2014. Turnover of listed stocks fell to a modest LE 323.8 million on Monday, after nearing LE700 million on Thursday, indicating that the drop in the indices does not reflect a slump in overall investor optimism about the market. Egyptians were net-buyers for LE11.9 million, followed by Arab investors for LE3.2 million, while other foreign investors were net-sellers to the tune of LE15.1 million. The majority of EGX30 shares were decliners, as market bellwether Commercial International Bank (CIB) slid 1.32 percent and investment bank EFG-Hermes saw its share price fall 0.92 percent. In the real estate sector, Palm Hills Development Company and Six October Development and Investment (SODIC) dropped 1.15 percent and 0.33 percent, respectively. The share price of Global Telecom Holding shed 0.21 percent. Metallurgical giant Ezz Steel was among the few gainers in the index, climbing 0.86 percent. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/89257.aspx
