The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) has ended Tuesday's session incurring substantial losses of EGP 5.2 billion driven by foreign selling pressures amid the travel ban decree issued against Orascom Construction Industries' officials. The capital market has reached to EGP 361.956 billion during Tuesday's closing. The EGX indices ended in red notes. Egypt's benchmark index EGX30 ended Tuesday's session on a red note as it dived by 2.49% to close at 5241.2 p; while EGX20 pushed down by 1.81% to end at 6189.2 p. A number of money market experts said the travel ban decree is the fresh blow to the business confidence in the Egyptian market. Some other experts described the decree as a contradictory signal while the Egyptian government is seeking to reconcile with the businessmen and investors to continue their operations in the country, a recent decree to ban the CEOs of the most major and powerful firms in the market from leaving the country. Meanwhile, the mid- and small-cap index, the EGX70 sank by 1.26% to conclude at 450.98 pts. Price index EGX100 fell by 1.35% to finish at 761.54 p. During Tuesday's closing, the trading volume hit 90.056 million securities, less than Monday's 216.360 million securities, representing a decrease of 126.304 thousand securities. For the traded value, it reached EGP 294.755 million, exchanged 18.627 thousand transactions. This was after trading in 166 listed securities; 129 declined, 19 advanced; while 18 keeping their previous levels. The non-Arab foreigners and Arabs' selling pressures have driven EGX's losses on Monday as they were net sellers seizing 28.11% and 8.54% respectively, of the total markets, with a net equity of EGP 33.900 million and EGP 3.714 million excluding the deals. Meanwhile, Egyptians net buyers seizing 63.35% of the total markets, with a net equity of EGP 37.615 million excluding the deals. For the leading EGX-listed firms' stocks, Orascom Telecom Media And Technology Holding SAE (OTMT.CA) inched down by 1.41% to end at EGP 0.70. Orascom Telecom Holding SAE (ORTE.CA)'s stock sank by 3.73% to EGP 4.13. Orascom Construction Industries – OCI (OCIC.CA)'s stock pushed down by 2.09% to EGP 246.81 amid the Egyptian prosecutor-general has issued an order to place a travel ban on Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) (OCIC.CA) founder Onsi Sawiris and its CEO Nassef Sawiris, an official judicial source told state-owned news agency MENA on Sunday. According to the source, this move by the prosecution is part of an ongoing investigations of the two businessmen on charges of tax evasion in the sale of OCI's cement unit Orascom Building Materials Holding to French cement Lafarge in 2008 for $15 billion.
