CAIRO: Egyptian stock indexes today made gains amid weak trading volume. This was helped along due to strong Egyptian and foreign purchasing despite some sell-offs by Arab traders. The main EGX 30 index increased 0.75 percent to end at 4,666 points while the EGX 70 and EGX 100 indexes gained 0.26 percent and 0.39 percent, respectively. Egyptian shareholders took 96.92 percent of total transactions today netting 1.05 million EGP (U.S. $176,183) while foreign traders took 2.23 percent of transactions, gaining 9.6 million EGP (U.S. $1.6 million). Arab traders took the remaining 0.85 percent in trading securing a healthy 10.7 million EGP (U.S. $1.8 million) in profits. Institutional trading was responsible for 91.66 percent of total transactions equaling 11.6 million EGP (U.S. $1.94 million) while individuals took the remaining 8.33 percent in transactions, gaining the same amount. Most blue-chip stocks today saw increases, including SODIC, up 1.5 percent; Orascom Telecom, up 1.4 percent; Hermes, up 1.9 percent; Palm Hills, up 1.1 percent; Citadel, up 3.5 percent; Orascom Construction, up 0.12 percent; Egyptians for Tourist Resorts, up 3 percent; Commercial International Bank of Egypt, up 2.2 percent; and Giza General Contracting, up 1.6 percent.
