Egyptian stocks slip slightly

Scheduled protests to mark the revolution's second anniversary affect the market, with foreign investors selling heavily Egyptian stocks declined slightly on Monday ahead of the second anniversary of the January 25 Revolution, with opposition groups planning anti-Brotherhood demonstrations on the day. Egypt's benchmark EGX30 index declined by a slim 0.77 per cent to reach 5,640 points. The broader-based EGX70 also witnessed a downturn of 1.3 per cent. Out of 171 traded stocks, 122 suffered losses while only 19 registered gains. Blue-chip stocks Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) and Commercial International Bank (CIB) both tumbled by 1 per cent and 0.56 per cent. Market experts expressed concerns that Friday's scheduled rallies could turn violent and have negative repercussions on the market. "Investors are selling ahead of the stressful weekend protests that are expected to hit the streets," Mohamed Radwan, director of international sales at Pharos Securities, told Reuters. "People would rather be out of the market." Foreign investors were net sellers for the day, offloading a significant LE106 million worth of shares, in line with trends seen last week. Egyptian and Arab investors, meanwhile, represented net buyers, picking up almost LE90 million and LE16 million in stocks respectively. Trade volume, which reached LE407 million, remains weak, showcasing the stock market's overall poor performance. The telecom sector was the best performing sector on Monday, with Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) rising by 2.42 per cent. From Ahramonline