CAIRO: Key Egyptian stock indexes dropped between 2.3 and 2.7 percent on Wednesday, dragged down by what brokers called corrections in Orascom Telecom (OT) and Orascom Construction (OCI). National Societe Generale Bank (NSGB) rose 4.35 percent to LE 14.40 ($2.58) after it announced much better than expected 2008 results on Tuesday. But brokers said that with current economic uncertainties past performance was not enough to sustain share prices. The problem is not with the performance of the companies... The problem is with the future. People expect poor results in 2009, they think they will be disappointing, said Mohamed Radwan of Pharos Securities. Ashraf Akhnoukh of CIBC said Egyptian companies were showing resilience but investors seeking bargains were more likely to find out in other markets where prices have fallen further. Orascom Construction, the most heavily traded stock, last traded 3.64 percent down at LE 108.12. Orascom Telecom, the second most heavily traded, lost 2.93 percent to LE 19.88. Telecom Egypt, also heavily traded and heavily weighted in the main indexes, slipped 7.25 percent to LE 13.95. The brokers said the three shares had benefited from modest recent rallies and were liable to corrective selling pressure. The benchmark CASE 30 index ended the session 2.64 percent down at 3,529.80 points, and the rival Hermes index dipped 2.63 percent to 335.65 points. The broader CIBC index lost 2.30 percent to 233.8 points. Volume was lower than average at LE 480 million and declining stocks outnumbered advances by 122 to 23.
