CAIRO: Last week marked another dismal performance for the market, as global economic gloom weighed on Egyptian shares, dragging the index to its lowest close since May 2005. Overall, Egypt's benchmark CASE 30 index skidded 19.6 percent to end the week at 3,878.11 points. Blue-chips tracked Gulf markets down on Sunday, dragging the index 0.85 percent to 4,782.66 points on a low turnover of LE 669.4 million ($121.26 million). EFG-Hermes - Egypt's largest listed investment bank - plummeted 6.42 percent to LE 18.5 per share after posting a steep decline in third-quarter net profit last week. The bank said on Thursday net profit fell roughly 50 percent in challenging market conditions which spilled over to regional markets during the quarter. Shares in Orascom Telecom (OT), the biggest Arab mobile phone operator by subscribers, skidded 5.27 percent to LE 28.20. Big cap Commercial International Bank (CIB) saw its shares dip 0.7 percent to LE 30.27. Telecom Egypt (TE), the state-run fixed telephone line monopoly, ended the day flat at LE 15 per share held by a jump in quarter results. The company said on Thursday third-quarter net profit jumped nearly 35 percent, helped by gains on its investment in mobile phone operator Vodafone Egypt. Bucking the market downtrend were shares of Ezz Steel Rebars, Egypt s biggest steel producer, which hit the day's highest price jump at 8.3 percent to LE 12.21. Steep declines in big caps triggered a selling frenzy on Monday, pulling the index 4.63 percent down to 4,561.06 points. Trading turnover was still below average at LE 898.3 million ($162.6 million). Shares of Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) - Egypt's construction giant - plunged 9.7 percent to a fresh year low of LE 153, while shares of heavyweight OT tumbled 4.7 percent to LE 27.40. Together both stocks hold a 50 percent weight in the index. EFG-Hermes plummeted a hefty 17.01 percent to LE 16 the same day the firm said it would buy up to 5 million treasury shares. Traders explained market performance did not reflect fundamentals and was enthralled by market movements in Europe, the United States and the Arab Gulf region. Profit taking weighed on shares of Ezz Steel, which sank 11.14 percent to LE 10.85 despite announcing a dividend of LE 2 per share to be distributed within a month. El Sewedy Cables, one of the region s biggest cable manufacturers, lost 7.81 percent to LE 66. Other big caps closed in the red as well TE diving 11.45 percent to LE 13.30 and CIB shedding 2.58 percent to LE 29.49. Both Orascoms plummeted on Tuesday after missing third-quarter profit forecasts, towing the index to its lowest close in over three years. The index fell 7.78 percent to 4,205.99 points on a weaker than average turnover of LE 753.8 million ($136.3 million). Shares of OT plunged 14.02 percent to LE 23.80, its sharpest single-day drop in nearly two years. The stock - the fourth-worst performer on the CASE 30 index this year - has fallen more than 70 percent since January. The company posted a 28 percent decline in third-quarter net profit, falling short of analysts expectations. Shares of sister company OCI - down about 50 percent this year - skidded 13.47 percent to LE 137. Third-quarter profit at Egypt s largest builder by market value jumped nearly fourfold but still missed forecasts. Analysts from EFG-Hermes and Beltone Financial said they expected higher revenues from construction contracts. Shares of Ezz Steel also closed in the red, stumbling 13 percent to LE 10.21. EFG-Hermes saw its shares lose 8.5 percent to LE 15.87, while CIB fell 2.5 percent to LE 29.11 per share. Shares of Talaat Mustafa Group (TMG), Egypt's largest real estate developer, slumped 7.2 percent to LE 3.37. Trial of ex-company chairman - accused of inciting murder of a Lebanese singer last July in Dubai - began last week. The index fell to a fresh three-year low on Wednesday, as foreign investors and institutions continued to dump big caps. The index slipped 2.6 percent to 4,098.51 points on a turnover of LE 676.6 million ($122.3 million). Shares of index heavyweight OCI plunged 8.77 percent to LE 130, their lowest point in over two years. The stock got pared by a below market expectations third-quarter profit for the second day in a row. Similarly, shares of OT extended losses, retreating 7.7 percent to LE 23. The firm's third-quarter profit fell short, as revenue from its Pakistan subsidiary weighed on results. Most Egyptian shares sank on Thursday in a sell-off driven mainly by foreigners with holdings of shares with London listings. The index slipped below 4,000 points for the first time since May 2005 to close 5.38 percent down at 3,878.11 points. Traders explained some investors were short-selling Egyptian global depositary receipts (GDRs) and others had to sell them to meet margin calls. Big cap OCI witnessed heavy selling that hammered the stock 13.26 percent down to LE 114, the lowest close since July 2006. Shares of OT plunged 10.04 percent to LE 21.05, 22 percent of its value in January. The market shrugged off news that OT had sold a relatively small subsidiary to Abu Dhabi Investment Company for $180 million, about 5 percent of OT s market value.
