Egyptian stocks continued to rise for the second consecutive day on Wednesday despite worries on the part of local investors about Egypt's uncertain political outlook in light of this weekend's clashes in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

The benchmark EGX30 and the broader EGX70 index both rose by 1.8 per cent, driven by purchasing by foreign investors to the tune of some LE61 million.

According to capital markets expert Mostafa Badra, Egyptians are still being negatively affected by Friday's clashes between pro-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators and their secular counterparts.

Egyptian investors were net sellers for the day at some LE62.5 million in a session that saw total daily turnover of LE599.5 million (roughly $98 million).

All blue-chip shares ended up in Wednesday trading, led by Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) and Commercial International Bank, which rose by 1.7 and 2.7 per cent respectively.

Investment bank Beltone Financial reported on Wednesday that OCI officials planned to meet with Egyptian tax authorities next week to discuss recent proposals for a capital-gains tax.

Orascom Telecom and Ezz Steel, meanwhile, rose by 2.5 and 4.1 per cent respectively.

Ezz Steel, Egypt's largest steel producer, reported a 16 per cent drop in net profits for the second quarter of 2012, as the company grappled with persistent economic weakness since last year's popular uprising.

Property developers Talaat Mostafa Group, SODIC and Palm Hills, for their part, gained by 1.4, 1.1 and 2.7 per cent respectively.

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