Egypt bourse has ended this week posting gains of EGP 3.6 billion backed by foreign buyers amid the announcement of the plans to launch Shariah-complaint stocks by mid-June. Accordingly, the Egyptian Exchange's indices flourished closing on green notes by Thursday afternoon. Egypt's benchmark index EGX30 soared by 1.89% to close at 5438.77 p; while the EGX20, it climbed by 1.67% to end at 6140.76 p. Meanwhile, the mid- and small-cap index, the EGX70 advanced by 0.46% to conclude at 440.46 p. The price index EGX100 also inched up by 0.73% to finish at 741.58 p. The capital market has closed at EGP 361.435 billion on Thursday. Traded Volumes & Trades: During the closing session of Thursday, the trading volume reached 112.142 million securities, higher than Wednesday's levels of 68.918 million securities, to represent an increase of 43.224 thousand securities. For the traded value, it reached EGP 726.436 million, exchanged through 19.965 thousand transactions. During the closing session of Thursday, 165 listed securities have been traded in; 40 declined, 78 advanced; while 47 keeping their previous levels. Investors' Activity: The non-Arab foreigners and the Arabs' buying transactions powered EGX's closing gains as they were net buyers seizing 32.63% and 20.34% respectively, of the total markets, with a net equity of EGP 30.120 million and EGP 24.608 million excluding the deals. Meanwhile, Egyptians were net sellers seizing 47.02% of the total markets, with a net equity of EGP 54.728 million, excluding the deals. First Islamic Stocks: The Egyptian Islamic Finance Association (EIFA) announced on Thursday it will launch its list of financial instruments that are compliant with Islamic Law in the country's bourse by mid-June. The EIFA plans to launch a list of sharia-compliant equities as part of its efforts to raise awareness of Islamic finance in the country. The organization's sharia board will approve the list, with rules based on the standards of the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), a major standard-setting body. Officials in the Egyptian association said the country's listed companies must raise their level of compliance with AAOIFI standards if they want to attract Islamic investors from the Gulf. Meanwhile, EG-Finance said the new Islamic stock is likely to boost the market liquidity and to allure more investors who are willing to invest in the Egyptian Exchange in accordance with the Islamic rules. The association was founded in February of this year. The rise of Islamist movements including the Muslim Brotherhood after last year's ouster of president Hosni Mubarak has raised expectations for growth of Islamic finance in Egypt.
