Egypt’s benchmark index ended the trading week on a new high, as the market broke turnover records on Thursday for the second time this month.

The main EGX30 climbed over 2 percent to reach a new high of 8,459 points, as investors were bullish on blue chips, while daily turnover of listed stocks reached LE1.6 billion, surpassing a previous high of LE1.4 billion reached on 13 March.

Non-Arab foreign investors made up some 22 percent of the market and were the only net-buyers, to the tune of LE106 million, while Egyptian and Arab investors were net-sellers, for LE32.3 million and LE73.7 million, respectively.

Institutions accounted for almost 35 percent of market activity.

“Foreign investors, who are largely present in the market through institutions, demonstrated an appetite for blue chip stocks today,” Ashraf Abdel-Aziz, head of institutional sales at the Cairo-based Arabia Online Securities, told Ahram Online.

The main index was evenly split between rising and falling shares, with the latter mainly comprised of prominent shares usually sought by foreign investors.

Market bellwether Commercial International Bank (CIB) leaped 3.23 percent to trade at LE38.35 per share, achieving the highest turnover in the index at LE132.7 million.

In the telecom sector, Global Telecom Holding and state-owned fixed-line operator Telecom Egypt saw their shares jump 4.01 percent and 4.64 percent, to trade at LE4.93 and LE16.70, respectively.

Real estate main players were in the green as well. TMG Holding rose 1.92 percent to trade at LE8.51 a share, Palm Hills Development Company gained 1.49 percent to trade at LE4.09, and Six of October Development and Investment (SODIC) rose 2.84 percent to trade at LE28.93 a share.

Among the losing shares were Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding, which had been ascendant the past few sessions but fell 0.67 percent on Thursday to trade at LE1.49.

The broader EGX70 index slid by 1.55 percent.