Egyptian shares fell sharply on Thursday for a third session in a row as telecoms extended losses led by Orascom Telecom (OT), traders said. “Investors stayed cautious and there was not enough buying power to support the market,” Hossam Abdel Rahman of Optima Securities said. OT, the regional mobile operator plunged 7.3 percent to last trade at a year low of 69.26 Egyptian pounds ($12.97). The stock has lost over 4 percent since Sunday, when it said it had applied to Egypt's regulator to reduce its capital. “There is nothing in particular concerning OT that could drive this downfall, but some people think the opportunities for the telecom sector are not good as they used to be,” said Walaa Hazem, the head of research at HC Brokerage. Other telecoms also ended in the red on Thursday, with Mobinil falling 2.2 percent to 172.10 pounds and fixed-line monopoly Telecom Egypt losing 2.1 percent to 17 pounds. The three companies, which have a combined weight of around 28 percent on the CASE 30, weighed on the index, which dropped 2.2 percent to 10,307.83 points. Raya for Technology and Communication also dropped 3.1 percent to last trade at 13.23 pounds. Shares in Medinet Nasr Housing were 2.7 percent lower at 59 pounds, while Orascom Construction Industries inched down 0.1 percent to 381 pounds. Overall, the widely watched Hermes index slipped 1.1 percent to 90,403.13 points and the broader CIBC index closed 1.8 percent down at 556.87 points. But shares in investment bank EFG-Hermes bucked the market trend, gaining 0.3 percent to last trade at 50.50 pounds on Arab buying, brokers said.
