Bethel Finance: Egyptian Stocks Rise to Four-Month High After Peaceful Protests

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Bethel Finance news:
Egyptian stocks advanced to the highest in more than four months after peaceful protests marking the first anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Orascom Telecom Holding SAE, the Egyptian mobile-phone company that was split into two units, rallied 6.9 percent. Commercial International Bank, the biggest publicly traded lender in Egypt, jumped to the highest in almost two months. The EGX30 Index surged 2.3 percent to 4,535.18, the highest since Sept. 13, at the 2:30 p.m. close in Cairo, bringing its gain for the year to 25 percent. The measure is still down 20 percent in the past 12 months.

“It is definitely a deserved rally given the market performance since the revolution, but at current levels we think investors might have gotten carried away,” said Wafik Dawood, director of institutional sales at Cairo-based Mega Investments Securities. “Some feared the weekend would turn violent as protesters insisted on a sit-in” and are now relieved, he said.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets over the weekend to mark the first anniversary of an uprising on Jan. 25 that culminated in the end of Mubarak’s reign over the North African country. Some celebrated while others protested against the ruling generals who took power.

Orascom Telecom climbed for a fifth day to 3.59 Egyptian pounds. The shares were suspended from trading for almost two months to allow the Cairo-based company to split its assets. Commercial International jumped 4.1 percent to 23.24 pounds, the highest close since Dec. 5.

Abu Dhabi Stocks Gain

About 180 million shares traded today, compared with a daily average of 88 million shares last year.

In the Persian Gulf, the Bloomberg GCC 200 Index increased 0.4 percent. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose 0.3 percent. Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index climbed 1.8 percent, the most since December 2009. Bahrain’s BB All Share Index and Kuwait’s Stock Exchange Price Index rose 0.1 percent, while Oman’s MSM 30 Index and Qatar’s QE Index were little changed. Dubai’s DFM General Index slipped 0.3 percent, snapping a five- day rally.

Israel’s TA-25 Index declined 0.8 percent. The yield on the country’s 5.5 percent notes due January 2022 fell two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 4.52 percent.