EGX 30 Opens Below 5455 Pts, OCI Falls 1.61% Amid CEO’s Travel Ban

The Egyptian Exchange has opened Monday’s session incurring losses of EGP 2.3 billion driven by foreign sellers. The capital market has amounted to EGP 372.070 billion, according to data compiled by Amwal Al Ghad at 11:05 a.m. Cairo time (09:05 GMT) during Monday’s opening.

The EGX indices opened in red notes.

Benchmark EGX30 fell by 0.85% to 5454.55 p; while EGX20 inched down by 0.51% to 6413.92 p.

Meanwhile, the mid- and small-cap index, the EGX70 edged down by 1.03 % to 4669.17 p.  Price index EGX100 dipped by 1% to 785.57 p.

This was after trading in 117 listed securities; 88 declined, 5 advanced; while 24 keeping their previous levels.

During Monday’s opening session, the trading volume has reached 15.039 million securities worth EGP 65.949 million, exchanged 2.794 thousand transactions.

EGX opening losses were driven by non-Arab foreign selling pressures as they were net sellers seizing 34.4% of the total markets, with a net equity of EGP 12.601 million excluding the deals.

Meanwhile, Egyptians and Arabs were net buyers seizing 62.36% and 3.24% respectively, of the total markets, with a net equity of EGP 1.699 million and EGP 902.226 thousand excluding the deals.

For the leading EGX-listed firms’ stocks, Orascom Telecom Media And Technology Holding SAE (OTMT.CA) jumped by 8.70% to EGP 0.75 amid the announcing of its standalone financial statements which revealed a net profit of EGP 6.307 million for the fiscal year of 2012 that ended on December 31st, 2012. OTMT’s profit before excluding interests, taxes, depreciation and amortization have hit EGP 5.537 million. The trading on the OTMT’s stock suspended for 30 minutes as the rise have exceeded 5%, as pursuant to the EGX’s regulations.

Orascom Telecom Holding SAE (ORTE.CA)’s stock inched up by 0.23% to EGP 4.35.

Orascom Construction Industries – OCI (OCIC.CA)’s stock tumbled by 1.61% to EGP 258.00 amid the Egyptian prosecutor-general has issued an order to place a travel ban on Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) (OCIC.CA) founder Onsi Sawiris and its CEO Nassef Sawiris, an official judicial source told state-owned news agency MENA on Sunday.

According to the source, this move by the prosecution is part of an ongoing investigations of the two businessmen on charges of tax evasion in the sale of OCI’s cement unit Orascom Building Materials Holding to French cement Lafarge in 2008 for $15 billion.

Egyptian Financial Group-Hermes Holding (HRHO.CA)’s stock dipped by 0.96% to EGP 11.35.