Egypt's stocks gained for the third day in a row on Wednesday as trading began in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) for the first time.

The main EGX30 index gained 2.53 percent to close at 9,544 points.

ETFs are typically funds that track equity indexes, though they can also track commodities and other assets, with component stocks usually represented in proportion to the size of their market capitalisation.

ETFs are traded like a stock and can allow investors to diversify their risks and reduce transaction costs. They gained 7.1 percent today to close at LE10.71 per share on a LE28.9 million turnover.

Egypt's Beltone Financial Holding, which specialises in brokerage, investment banking and private equity, won the first licence to operate an ETF on the Egyptian exchange in April.

Total market turnover reached LE881.6 million, with Egyptian investors making up 81.4 percent of turnover.

The Commercial International Bank, the largest listed company, was the most active in today's session gaining 3.4 percent to close at LE52.97 per share. It saw a turnover of LE183 million.

Palm Hills, Egypt's second largest real estate developer, gained 0.24 percent to close at LE4.23 per share. It said today it plans to inject LE2.2 billion ($307.6 million) into its existing projects during 2015.

El-Sewedy Cables gained 5.75 percent to close at LE48.02 per share.

EFG-Hermes, Egypt's largest investment bank, gained 2.52 percent to close at LE17.09 per share.

The broader based EGX70 index lost 0.35 percent to close at 581.5 points.