Egypt shares closed last week on a down note, hit by a sell-off streak from foreign and Egyptian investors to book gains. Arab investors were net buyers. The Cairo benchmark index EGX30 continued its downward trend, losing 2.55% or 342.94 points, and closing at the level of 13,119.44 points. EGX70 went down by 3.21% to 697.09 points, while the broader index EGX100 decreased by 2.41% to the level of 1,573.33 points. The equal-weighted index EGX50 fell 3.09%, to 2,052.11 points, with turnovers totaling EGP 2.6 billion. Traded volumes for the main index stocks reached 814.36 million shares with a total turnover of EGP 2.15 billion. "Foreign investors were booking some gains last week. The market is expected to extend fall in the few coming weeks on profit-taking ahead of Eid Al-Adha vacation," said Mohammed Amin, a Cairo based trader. Commercial International Bank (CIB), the stock with the heaviest weight in the main index, fell 3.2% to EGP 81.10, serving as the main drag for the downtrend. The market capital ended the week at EGP 697.5 billion, declining by EGP 17.6 billion, compared to its close last week at the level of EGP 715.16 billion. Foreign and Egyptian investors were inclined towards selling, with net EGP 35.24 million and EGP 13.6 million, respectively, while Arab investors were net buyers at EGP 48.8 million. "The market awaits some fresh stimulus to continue its rally in the mid-term. That could start to happen after Eid Al-Adha vacation," Amin added. Meanwhile, technical analyst Ayman Fouda expected the main gauge to have resistances at 13,100 and, 13,250, while the support levels are likely to be 13,330, 13,240, and 13,150 points.
