Stock exchange index increased by 5%

Egypt's stock market kept on Monday 13/10/2008 its occasional habit of zigzagging, ending almost 5%. Up, after a losing session on Sunday and a winning one on Thursday, but bulls of bourse hope the upbeat sentiment would take root.

Benchmark CASE 30, grouping the strongest shares in value and volume, Monday gained 269.14 points, or 4.9%., to conclude the day at 5760.90 points, with total turnover surpassing LE 1.4bn.

There has been a raft of good news all teaming up to give the Egyptian bourse the shot in the arm it was desperately in need of, led by a proposed new LE-one-billion fund to be set up soon to shore up the stock market and spare it any unforeseeable turbulence like the one sweeping the whole global economy now, stockbrokers told MENA's Economic Service (MENES).

The Capital Market Authority (CMA)'s key and secondary indices all finished in the positive turf Monday.

The all shares index rallied by 49.12 points, or 2.50%., to close at 2012.92 points, the CMA said in its daily report.

The index of the most traded public subscription companies rose by 12.83 points, or 0.55%., to conclude the session at 2327.84 points.

The index of the less traded closed subscription companies advanced by 50.84 points, or 3.25%., to register 1610.68 points.

Retail investors Monday acquired 38%. Of trading, while the remaining 62%. went to institutions, according to the market's website Monday.

Egyptian shareholders controlled 65.7%. Of trading volume; the Arabs 6.9%. and the foreigners 27.4%.

Arab investors' purchases Monday amounted to LE 92,450,000 and their sales hit LE103, 070,000, making them net sellers at LE 10,620,000.

Foreigners in their turn yesterday bought about LE 418,100,000 worth of stocks, while their sales totaled LE 360,010,000. They were also net sellers at approximately LE58,090,000.

In floor transactions Monday, the market saw 112,448,751 securities traded at an overall value of LE 1,329,176,924, the CMA said.