CAIRO: Shares of Orascom Telecom (OT), the biggest Arab mobile phone operator by subscribers, fell 7.6 percent on Tuesday to drag key Egyptian stock indexes down in line with global markets. Traders said negative sentiment dominated the market after European and Asian shares fell on bleak corporate earnings. Shares in OT last traded at LE 27.60 ($5) despite an announcement that the Cairo-based group has won a renewable one-year contract to operate one of Lebanon s two mobile phone operators. The announcement would not have a very positive impact on the share price because the global sentiment is negative, says Karim Hosny of Pharos Securities. The macro-economic news is overshadowing the impact of news about companies. Market heavyweight Orascom Construction Industries also fell 3.86 percent to LE 133.12. Investment bank Pioneers Holding shed 6 percent to LE 6.69 a share. The bank said it has cancelled a deal to buy a stake in Egyptian Securities Brokerage and was studying other options. Hashem Ghoneim, vice chairman of Pyramids Capital, said the stock probably fell on the news but added that negative market sentiment was hitting many stocks dominated by speculators and retail investors. The benchmark CASE 30 index ended 2.16 percent lower at 4,500.98 points and the rival Hermes index declined 1.94 percent to 426.13 points. The broader CIBC index fell 1.91 percent to 308.4 points.
