Egypt’s stocks fell for the second consecutive trading session as Arab and foreign investors were net sellers, interacting negatively with the central bank’s decision to keep the pound stable on Tuesday, an analyst told Ahram Online.
The market’s main index EGX30 slipped 0.65 percent to register 7,457 points with local investors as net buyers to the tune of EGP 63 million.
“Unlike foreigners and Arabs, Egyptians were positive on the central bank’s auction that at least cleared the current uncertainty over the pound devaluation, which made some exchange shops hoard dollars, seeking higher prices,” said Eissa Fathi, the vice head of securities division at Cairo Chamber of Commerce.
Out of $120 million that was offered, the Central Bank of Egypt sold $118.6 million to local banks at a cut-off price of EGP 8.78 per dollar at its regular forex auction to not meet some expectations of another devaluation that might have happened to tighten the gap between the official and informal rates of the US currency.
The heavyweight listed Commercial International Bank (CIB) was down 1.42 percent to close at EGP 42.32 per share.
However, Egypt’s second biggest real estate developer Six October Development & Investments (SODIC) rose 2.53 percent to close at EGP 12.16 per share.
The most traded was Global Telecom that went up 0.27 percent to record EGP 3.70 per share. Telecom Egypt rose 2.45 percent to be traded at EGP 8.78.
The daily turnover for listed stocks reached some EGP 705.8 million. The broader index EGX70 climbed 0.03 percent.
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