Egypt stocks rise despite contentious gubernatorial reshuffle

Egypt stocks registered modest gains on Monday, as investors continued to voice misgivings about the future of the Egyptian market in the run-up to planned mass anti-government demonstrations on 30 June. Monday's market rise came despite President Mohamed Morsi's contentious decision on Sunday to appoint 17 new provincial governors, seven of whom are members of the Muslim Brotherhood group from which Morsi hails. The benchmark EGX30 index climbed 1.2 percent to 4,658 points in a session that saw only LE162.1 million in turnover. The broader-bade EGX70 index, meanwhile, rose by 1.3 percent. Foreign investors took advantage of the low prices of heavyweight shares, ending the session as net buyers at some LE19.3 million. Egyptian investors, for their part, continued to play the role of net sellers to the tune of LE34.2 million. Most blue-chip stocks ended the day in the green led by Commercial International Bank and Orascom Telecom, which rose by 0.5 percent and 4 percent respectively. Orascom Construction Industries, meanwhile, shed 0.04 percent to close the day out at LE22.4 per share. Property shares Talaat Mostafa Group and SODIC, for their part, soared by 1.5 percent and 2.8 percent respectively. From : Ahram Online