Egypt stocks down 0.7 percent

Egypt's stocks have ended the week down despite the announcement of a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict. The main EGX30 index fell 0.7 per cent on Thursday to 5,439.29 as the domestic political scene remained unstable. The constitution-drafting process remains fractious and clashes are ongoing in downtown Cairo. "Regardless of the IMF's $4.8 billion loan and the ceasefire in Gaza, Egyptian investors are negatively impacted by the ongoing political uncertainty," said Eissa Fathi, head of the securities division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce. The broader EGX70 index fell 0.1 per cent in a session which saw domestic investors net selling by LE19.4 million. Foreign investors were net buyers by LE18.3 million. Daily turnover was around LE262 million. Commercial International Bank and Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) fell 1.2 and 0.6 per cent respectively. "OCI saw profit-taking by investors after it had gained over the last few days," Fathi told Ahram Online. National Societe Generale Bank (NSGB) fell 5 per cent on the news that Egypt's regulator would extend until 20 February a deadline for Qatar National Bank to offer to buy out all the shares in NSGB. Property shares saw a contradictory performance with Talaat Mostafa Group slipping 0.9 per cent while Palm Hills gained 1.2 per cent. Orascom Telecom climbed 0.2 per cent. Egyptian equity firm Citadel Capital was among the top gainers on Thursday, surging 1.6 per cent. Citadel Capital SAE has agreed with Qatari investors to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) into Egypt from mid-2013, the Egyptian private equity firm said on Thursday. From Ahramonline