CAIRO: Egypt's main index closed lower in thin trade, with political and economic uncertainty still weighing on investor confidence. The ended down 0.3 percent at 5,039.4 points. "There is no catalyst. There are no buyers in the market that would take it to a higher level," said Mohammed Radwan, head of equities at Pharos Securities. "With this kind of turnover, the market is going to remain sideways or trading in a range of 2-3 percent maximum. For the market to make a sharp move, whether higher or lower, it needs to see a higher turnover," Radwan adde. Real estate firm Palm Hills shed 5.6 percent after a northern provincial government scraps a sale of land to the firm. Egypt's biggest property developer Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) was the bourse's biggest loser, falling 6.8 percent. The country's property sector is reeling from a string of legal challenges to land holdings since a court ruled last year that a state deal with TMG was illegal. Heavyweight Commercial International Bank ended 0.4 percent weaker and is the most heavily traded stock on the day. Moody's last week revised its outlook on Egypt's banking system to negative from stable, citing growing exposure to lower-rated Egyptian sovereign debt and the effect of political turmoil. Mohamed Swefy of Osool brokerage said big industrial stocks backed by investment funds, like cement firms, are safe because on ongoing construction demand. Misr Beni Suef Cement gained 4.3 percent, Suez Cement was up 2.8 percent and Misr Cement Qena added 1.9 percent. Pioneer Holdings ended up 4.4 percent, helped by a share buyback at Egypt's biggest investment bank last week which lifted financial stocks, traders said. "Pioneer Holdings was spurred by the EFG-Hermes buyback mid-last week which gave a big boost to the stock and reflected on other names like Citadel, Pioneers and Naeem," said Radwan. EFG-Hermes closed 1.5 percent higher.
