[2007-09-26]  Egypt indexes fall, Orascom Telecom leads
Egyptian stock indexes extended declines to a fourth session on Tuesday as investors took profits on shares of Orascom Telecom, which fell 1.1 percent to end at 70.80 Egyptian pounds ($12.67).

Orascom Telecom had gained 4.4 percent last week as Egypt's main stock indexes rose to record highs but have fallen for three of the past four sessions.

"People were taking profit," said Mohamed Kotb of Jazira Asset Management. "But the stock has support between 69.50 pounds and 70 pounds."

Egypt's benchmark Case 30 index retreated 0.2 percent to 8,416.41 points and the well watched Hermes index dropped 0.2 percent to 74,193.47 points. The broader CIBC index retreated 0.3 percent to 385.39 points.

Falling European and emerging market shares may have also weighed on Egypt's indexes, Mohamed Radwan of Delta Securities said.

European stocks fell on Tuesday and Wall Street looked set for a weak start as investors worried about the financial system and earnings.

Shares of Naeem Holdings bucked Egypt's downward trend, surging 4.9 percent to $2.38.

Traders said investors were buying the share in expectation that Naeem would profit from selling its stake in AlWatany Bank to National Bank of Kuwait, which agreed to buy AlWatany last month. ($1 = 5.59 Egyptian pounds)



Source: © Reuters 2007.