Cairo – Mubasher: The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) finished Thursday in the red zone for the third session in a row upon a wave of profit taking.
The main index EGX30 fell 30 point, 0.36%, to 8,317.2 points amid foreign investors' selling pressure.
The largest EGX30 constituent was 2.17% higher to EGP 50.5 a share achieving a turnover of EGP 134.5 million.
Trading value reached EGP 667 million after 182 million shares were traded.
Out of 172 stocks, 52 were up, 83 down and 37 flat.
The third straight decline was driven by foreigners' selling pressure that reversed early gains when the benchmark ticked 8,427 points, said Market analyst Ahmed Al Bagory.
Currently, the EGX30 is moving upwardly in a pricing channel extending from 8,277 points to 8,475 points, said Market analyst Ahmed Al Bagory.
"By holding above 8,270 points, the main gauge is likely to shoot above 8,475 points next week in spite of the profit-taking wave that is expected to continue. The outlook also remains positive as long as the EGX30 is above 8,000 points", Al Bagory added.
Foreign investors were net sellers by EGP 94.8 million, while Arab and local ones were net buyers by EGP 60 million and 34.8 million respectively.
Likewise, the small and mid-cap inched down 0.2% to 365.2 points and the broader index went down 0.2% to 810.7 points.
By category, institutions tended to sell their stock by EGP 90.5 million, while individuals were net buyers.
Market capitalization rose by EGP 578 million to close at EGP 416.6 billion.
The top gainers were led by Arab Pharmaceuticals (+9.4%), Edita (+7.3%), and Middle Egypt Flour Mills (+6%).
Meanwhile, the top losers were Middle Egypt Flour Mills (-9.4%), Golden Textile (-6.7%), and Ataqa (-3.9%).
