Egypt stocks continued to rally on Wednesday with the main EGX30 index increasing 2.7 per cent to alight at 4,709 points on the second day of relative calm in the streets of Cairo – especially in the flashpoint Tahrir Square and the nearby Ministry of Interior.

Broader indices also recorded gains on Tuesday, with the EGX70 and EGX100 rising by 1.5 and 2.3 per cent respectively reflecting across-the-board gains.

Egyptian investors constituted the day's main buyers, scooping up a total of LE42.2 million in shares, while foreign investors sold some LE60.7 million more than they bought.

Leading the market was the new split share Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMTH) and mobile operator Mobinil, which rose by 8.2 and 7.5 per cent respectively, with the former accounting for the day's highest turnover at LE45 million.

“Both shares are related to each other. What's more, Mobinil has been positively impacted by news that [owner] Naguib Sawiris might try to raise his family's stake to sell it on to France Telecom,” Walaa Hazem, an analyst at Cairo-based HC Securities, said.

Market heavyweights Commercial International Bank (CIB) and Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), meanwhile, gained 2 and 3.2 per cent respectively, while Orascom Telecom (OT) rose by 1 per cent.

Property development bellwethers TMG and Palm Hills did similarly well, finishing up 3.3 and 5 per cent respectively.

“SODIC is not listed anymore because the share has seen fragile trading,” Hazem told Ahram Online.

The local construction sector was also bolstered by Ezz Steel, stocks of which surged 3.5 per cent for the day.

EFG-Hermes rose by 2 per cent after the company informed the exchange on Wednesday that EFG Executive Chairman Yasser Malwany, who has been slapped with a travel ban, is still at his post and has not been officially charged with any wrongdoing.

NSGB, meanwhile, rose by 3.4 per cent for the day, despite a recent string of bank robberies.

Telecom Egypt (TE) was the only market heavyweight to fall, decreasing by 0.4 per cent for the day. “TE has suffered since OT started trading again, largely because the latter is more attractive to investors,” Hazem explained.

Of the market's 189 listed stocks, 149 finished up on Wednesday while 20 recorded losses in a day that saw total daily turnover reach LE499.4 million.