CAIRO: The mood had been somber at Cairo's Stock Exchange for the past few weeks since activists began an open-ended strike on July 8. The result saw the country's markets falter, but that could be changing as a new Cabinet is sworn in on Tuesday. “The Egyptian governmental reshuffling has a positive effect on stock house dealings, achieving great raising” said head of technical analysis of Al-Ahram brokerage company, Abdel Rahman Labib, in comments to local Egyptian newspapers. Labib was reported to say that he expects trading to rise during the coming days. The stock market's main index could reach 5,500 to 5,600 points, he said. Currently, the exchange lumbers around 5,000 points, but analysts here at the exchange are confident that with the new Cabinet comes a renewed sense that the country is heading in the right direction, although there is some worry that continued demonstrations, with a massive “stability” gathering called for Friday, could affect the future of the Egypt's economy. “We are cautiously optimistic right now and looking forward to seeing what this week will bring,” Gabr Mohamed, a trader in Cairo, told Bikyamasr.com. He argued that with demonstrations ongoing, foreign investment remains stalled, but that his discussions with investors have been positive. “We are definitely thinking that the worst is behind us. It was a little hiccup over the past 10 days and hopefully we can put that behind us,” he added. BM
