Egypt's main index closed 3.01 per cent up at 5,409.43 points on a busy day of trade.

Emergency measures forced a temporary freeze of some blue-chip stock but the wider market continued trading.

Telecoms and the financial sector saw the largest gains, with Orascom Telecom shares rising 9.5 per cent. Real estate developers continued to suffer as Palm Hills Development lost nearly 10 per cent.

Total market turnover was LE960,998,323.