Presidential palace clashes drive Egypt stocks down

Egyptian bourse slides following confrontations outside presidential palace, with EGX30 falling by 4.61 pct The Egyptian stock market ended the week in the red, with significant losses being registered since the announcement of the 22 November constitutional decree that made President Mohamed Morsi's decisions impervious to judicial challenge. Egypt’s benchmark EGX30 index declined by 4.61 per cent, closing the day out at 4,838 points. The broader-based EGX70 index continued its downward trend from yesterday, sliding by 3.44 per cent. The political crisis is far from being resolved, and several opposition groups are planning further marches to the presidential palace on Thursday evening. Analysts predict that the political crisis could lead daily turnover to reach its lowest point since the January 2011 uprising. Trade volume continued its downward trend, standing at a meagre LE402 million, showcasing investors' increasing distrust in the Egyptian economy's ability to recover. Of 168 shares traded, 137 suffered losses while only seven registered gains.     In recent weeks, Arab and foreign investors were heavy buyers and were behind several market rises, while Egyptians were mainly net sellers. This trend was reversed by the end of today's session, however, as Arab and foreign investors were net sellers for the day, offloading a total of LE21.8 million and LE8.5 million, respectively. On the other hand, Egyptians were net buyers, picking up almost LE30.4 million worth of shares. Blue chip Commercial International Bank (CIB) slipped by a momentous 6.39 per cent, while market giant Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) declined by 6.33 per cent. The real estate sector continued to bleed, meanwhile, with both Talaat Mostafa Group Holding (TMGH) and Palm Hills going down by 4.7 per cent and 3.48 per cent respectively. From Ahramonline