Egypt's bourse gained Monday 926 million Egyptian pounds (US$121 million) after the central bank said it had sold $500 million in the interbank market to meet outstanding demand for "strategic staple food commodities". The market capitalization has reached 496.083 billion pounds during the closing session of Monday. C.Bank Move: Foreign currency shortages are one of the main concerns for Egyptian companies, and have been one major reason for the stock market's weak performance in recent months. The central bank sold $281 million in the interbank market last month and $420 million in March to meet similar demand for dollars. Indices: Egypt's benchmark index, EGX30 climbed by 1.04 percent to close at 8652.12 points. EGX20 hiked by 0.61 percent to 9017.71 points. Yet, the mid- and small-cap index EGX70 dropped by 0.22 percent to 464.97 points. The price index, EGX100 increased by 0.01 percent to 956.88 points. Turnovers higher On Monday, the bourse's trading volume has recorded 161.821 million securities, with turnovers closed at EGP 830.016 million, exchanged through 18.548 thousand transactions. Also during the closing session, 166 listed securities have been traded in; 66 declined, 57 advanced; while 38 kept their previous levels. Investors' Activities Local investors were net sellers on Monday seizing 80.72% of the total market, with a net equity of EGP 14.639 million, excluding the deals. Arab and non-Arab foreign investors were net buyers capturing 5.47% and 13.81% respectively of the total markets, with a net equity of EGP 2.081 million and EGP 12.557 million, respectively, excluding the deals.
