Market Report: Egypt high-cap activity nudges index into green

Egypt's Bourse battled against sluggish trade on Monday as sustained interest in high-caps helped the main index keep its head above water while lower-value shares tumbled into the red.

The benchmark EGX30 finished the four-hour session up 0.27 per cent at 4,311.9 points, marking the exchange's seventh consecutive day of gains.

But the performance of the broader EGX70, which tracks smaller, more speculator-friendly stocks and slipped 1.79 per cent, painted a different picture.

“The whole market was carried upwards by no more than five of its biggest stocks," says Ashraf Abdel Aziz, head of institutions sales at Arabeya Online Securities.

"Even when you look at the EGX30 you find that 10 shares gained while the rest dropped."

From the 179 stocks traded on Monday, more than 130 lost value and just 34 saw gains. Total turnover was LE308.7 million, a significant climb on
the previous day's thin stream of buys and sells.

Trade clustered in high-caps Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), Orascom Telecom and Commercial International Bank, which together made up almost LE130 million -- around 42 per cent -- of total activity.

“Those three stocks basically drove the index into the green, they also helped market turnover rise when compared to yesterday,” explained Abdel Aziz, attributing the increased activity to foreign investors targeting their "favourite shares".

Foreign investors share of trading jumped to 35 per cent after it slumped to 5 per cent on Sunday. The boost to turnover was pronounced, with foreigners contributing LE308m on Monday against LE187m the day before.