Egyptian stocks end week of bombings in red
Egypt's stocks ended the trading week in the red after the impact of both profit-taking by investors and an explosion in eastern Cairo on Thursday that left five people injured.
Foreign investors were net-sellers on Thursday as they sold stocks worth LE13 million, whilst domestic investors were net-buyers at LE7 million.
A bomb went off on a bus in Nasr City in eastern Cairo on Thursday, injuring five people. A bomb attack in Mansoura, a city in northern Egypt, on Tuesday had killed 16 and injured 135.
The main EGX30 index slumped 0.8 percent to close at 6,812 points in a session that saw a modest daily turnover of the listed securities worth LE321.3 million.
The broader EGX70 index dipped 1.6 percent on Thursday.
"I can't say that the explosion has negatively affected investors' sentiment as the session's trading volume is already weak and the profit-taking wave remains," said Eissa Fathy, deputy head of the securities division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce.
Only three listed stocks in the market's benchmark saw gains, led by Egyptian Financial and Industrial, which was up 2.4 percent to close at LE11.90 per share.
Real estate developers United Housing & Development and El-Kahera housing ended Thursday rising 0.4 percent and 1.6 percent respectively, recording prices per share of LE14.99 and LE8.17 one-to-one.
Meanwhile, the market's bellwethers Commercial International Bank (CIB) and Global Telecom (GT) declined 0.8 percent and 1 percent, closing at share prices of LE32.8 and LE4.77 respectively.
The property blue chips Talaat Mustafa Group (TMG), Palm Hills Development (PHD) and Six of October Development and Investment were down 1 percent, 1.1 percent and 1.7 percent, registering share prices of LE6.25, LE6.24 and LE22.60 respectively.
Out of 180 listed stocks, 44 shares gained and 118 recorded losses.
