Egypt's benchmark index of thirty companies slid on Monday by 0.54 percent to register 5,417 points, as selling pressure on key stocks pulled the market down.

Financial heavyweights EFG Hermes and Commercial International Bank (CIB), and real estate company Palm Hills Development dropped 2.86 percent, 0.42 percent, and 1.78 percent respectively.

"This negatively affected the rest of the market," said Ashraf Abdel Aziz, head of institutional sales at the Cairo-based Arabia Online Securities, "as these three stocks have accounted for over a third of market turnover in the past couple of months."

Turnover at Monday's session was a modest LE 256.5 million, with the three shares accounting for roughly 43 percent of the total value traded.

A total of 105 shares declined on Monday, with only 29 gaining, as foreign investors were net sellers, to the tune of LE26.2 million.

Real estate stocks TMG Holding and Six of October Development & Investment (SODIC) fell 1.70 percent and 1.50 percent respectively, while telecom giant OT Holding recorded a 0.21 percent drop.

Blue chip Orascom Construction Industries, however, gained 0.21 percent.

The broader EGX 70 index dropped 0.85 percent.