CAIRO - Egyptian stocks fell on Monday to the lowest in more than a week after clashes that erupted in central Cairo between supporters and opponents of the ruling military council injured more than 300 people on Saturday, according to Bloomberg. The country's benchmark index EGX 30 shed 0.63 per cent to 5,104.41 points, according to Bourse data. The measure has declined 29 per cent this year following the popular revolt that ousted president Hosni Mubarak. The broader indexes EGX 70 and EGX 100 slipped by 0.31 and 0.61 per cent to 639.33 and 957.98 points respectively. "I would say that the weekend events are affecting the market negatively," said Ashraf Akhnoukh, senior equity sales trader at Cairo-based Commercial International Brokerage. "However it is not that bad as volumes are extremely low so far. The low volumes are a sign of uncertainty from investors, and show that there is no panic." Arab and non-Arabs made net purchses worth LE1.2 million and LE23.7 million (around $4 million) respectively. Locals made net sell-offs worth LE25 million. Volume hit LE405 million, according to Bourse data. Egypt's heavyweight Commercial International Bank (CIB) rose by 0.26 per cent to LE27.17 per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's biggest investment bank by market value, shed 0.76 per cent to LE19.55 per share. Orascom Construction Industries fell by 1.21 per cent to LE264.66 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, lost 0.51 per cent to LE3.91 per share. Political brinkmanship in Washington over the US debt ceiling hit world stocks and pushed money into safe-haven gold and Swiss francs, ending a brief relief rally over Greece's second bailout package. MSCI's all-country world stock index was down 0.4 percent with emerging markets losing 0.9 per cent. The FTSEurofirst 300 was down 0.4 per cent. Japan's Nikkei earlier closed 0.8 per cent lower, according to Reuters. The STOXX Europe 600 Banks index was down 1.9 per cent. Standout losers were banks exposed to peripheral debt, with Bank of Piraeus and EFG Eurobank (down 1 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively, with volumes reaching their 90-day daily average. Dexia fell 5.3 per cent while Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo and BMPS lost 5.1 per cent and 4 percent respectively. "Sentiment is weak due to ongoing discussions in the United States and a bit more analysis of the Greek bailout over the weekend," said David Coombs, fund manager at Rathbone Brothers, which has 15.2 billion pounds under management. "The Greek bailout is really only a temporary measure. I do not think it is possible to make an informed decision if banks which have a lot of sovereign debt on their balance sheet are good value. I would stay clear."
