Egypt traders doubt election will end woes

Foreign investors sold Egyptian stocks ahead of the first stage of presidential elections this week and are likely to remain cautious as traders doubt a new leader will be able to ease the country's political and economic woes.

All candidates in the vote are promising more equal distribution of wealth, less corruption, better education and big industrial projects to boost the ailing economy after 15 months of military rule. Final results are due on June 21 and with no reliable opinion polls, no one knows who will win.

Investors fearing a new bout of political turmoil are uneasy over the line-up of top candidates - ranging from old-school army man Ahmed Shafiq, who is hated by the young revolutionaries who led the campaign to topple President Hosni Mubarak, to the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi and leftist Hamdeen Sabahy.

Whoever eventually wins office will not know his ultimate powers because a new constitution has been delayed and faces an uphill struggle to head off a balance of payments crisis and rein in an unsustainable budget deficit.

"The market is not particularly enthusiastic about any of the candidates," said Omar Darwish of brokerage CIBC in Cairo. "We've been seeing foreigners selling and don't think that will change instantly with the decision on a new president."