Egypt stocks back in green as heavyweights rise on Tuesday

Egypt's main index closed on a positive note after another sideways session on Tuesday, gaining 0.76 percent to sit at 5,326 points as heavyweight stocks pulled the market up. Egyptians remained net buyers on Tuesday, to the tune of LE31.4 million, while Arab investors joined other foreigners in the ranks of the net-sellers. There were 72 declining stocks, as opposed to 41 gainers, at the session which saw a relatively weak LE357 million in turnover. ''Investors are hesitant and waiting to see how events unfold on the ground," Ashraf Abdel-Aziz, head of institutional sales at the Cairo-based Arabia Online Securities, told Ahram Online, referring to Egypt's political unrest following the ousting of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi earlier in July. Egypt's National Coalition for Supporting Legitimacy, an alliance led by the Muslim Brotherhood demanding Morsi's reinstatement, has called for mass rallies on Tuesday to condemn the killing of dozens of pro-Morsi protesters during clashes with security forces on Saturday. Among the gainers on Tuesday were blue chip Commercial International Bank (CIB), up 0.12 percent, and Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), which rose 2.16 percent despite being due to exit the EGX30 index after its acquisition by Dutch parent OCI NV. Orascom Telecom (OT) rose 1.58 percent. Though TMG Holding was up 0.42 percent, the rest of the real estate sector was down, with Six of October Development & Investment (SODIC) shedding 0.47 percent and Palm Hills Development Company losing 0.42 percent. Investment bank Egyptian Financial Group-Hermes Holding Company also fell, by 1.23 percent. The broader EGX70 index was up 0.09 percent.