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Egypt's stock exchange staged a further retreat as institutions continued to rake in profits from a recent surge in major shares and saw a slight downturn in trade. The benchmark EGX30 finished down 0.21 per cent at 5,815 points, extending mild losses made. The broader-based EGX70, by contrast, gained 1 per cent as local individuals scooped up lower-risk stock. From the total 181 shares traded, 85 gained in value and 80 declined. Market turnover was LE658.27 million, a good half-billion pounds less than the level it achieved in the middle of last week. Promising medium-term economic predictions from Egypt's Minister of Finance published last Monday prompted trade to surge to its highest point in more than a year of upheaval.
High-cap shares staged a mixed performance, with substantial losses of around 2 per cent for Ezz Steel, SODIC, Palm Hills and EFG-Hermes nearly balanced by solid gains for other shares. Finishing in the green were Arab Cotton Ginning, up 4.25 per cent, dairy producer Juhayna, which gained 2.14 per cent and Citadel Capital, up 2.31 per cent. Telecoms firm OTMT saw the heaviest trade -- some LE43.74 million -- but failed to shift either way. Egyptians made up the bulk of Sunday trade, some 84 per cent, and were net-buyers to the tune of LE23.7 million. Non-Arab foreign investors, typically restrained on Sundays, sold LE35.583 million more in stocks than they bought. Three-quarters of their trade was by institutions, offloading heavyweight shares that saw several sessions of gains last week.
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