Egypt s main index ended 0.9 percent lower, dragged down by Commercial International Bank (CIB) and Orascom Telecom (OT), which posted a fourth quarter net loss of $46 million last week. Due to lower-than-expected results . we see OT following its global depositary receipts (GDR) guidance over the weekend, especially with low foreign intervention on a Sunday, said Omar Darwish of CICB brokerage. Egypt s market is closed on Fridays and Saturdays. It had pared losses late last week after suffering heavy sell-off earlier on concerns over President Hosni Mubarak s health. Arabs are slowly creeping out of Egypt and more towards Dubai, and contribute to most of today s selling pressure, Darwish said. CIB shed 3.8 percent, Telecom Egypt dipped 1.9 percent, Ezz Steel dropped 3 percent and Talaat Moustafa declined 1.5 percent. Notable gainers included EgyptKuwait Holding, up 0.5 percent, and Nasr City Housing, which closeed 1.5 percent higher. Heavyweight Orascom Construction also gained, up 0.1 percent, driven mainly by its announcement on Thursday of a 42 percent rise in quarterly profit, traders say. The secondary index rose 1.5 percent. Overall, the main index closed at 6,554 points while the secondary index ended at 682 points. Low volumes make sellers more aggressive, in other words willing to participate at lower levels, said Darwish. We don t expect a major panic. The road to 7,000 will be slow and certain, he said. - Reuters
