Egypt stocks up on Monday despite Islamists' calls for protests

Egypt’s benchmark EGX30 index continued to show progress on Monday as promises of aid from oil-rich Gulf states over the last week, worth around $12 billion, encouraged foreign investors to remain net buyers. The index gained a modest 0.1 percent and recorded 5,313 points in a session that saw domestic investors become net sellers of some LE4 million, with foreign investors net buyers at LE5.5 million. “Investors were worried earlier during Monday’s trading due to the Islamists’ planned protests [which aimed] to reinstate Mohamed Morsi as a president,” said Eissa Fathy, the vice head of securities division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce. “They started to be positive later in the day as no violence was seen.” Ahram’s Arabic language news website reported on Monday that the bourse’s management has frozen assets of 21 Islamists who are facing criminal charges. The broader EGX70 index fell 1.1 percent on Monday. The total market’s daily turnover of listed securities reached some LE290.2 million. Market bellwethers Orascom Construction Industries and Commercial International Bank rose by 0.4 percent per each. In property, Palm Hills and Six of October Development and Investment dipped by 1.6 percent and 0.4 percent respectively, while Talaat Mostafa Group increased by 0.4 perce From ; Ahram Online