CAIRO: Conflict between Israel and Hezbollah along Lebanon s southern border hit Egyptian stocks hard on Wednesday, as jittery investors took profits from a two-week rally. Brokers said news that the Lebanese guerrilla group had captured two Israeli soldiers and Israel was preparing a military response triggered some panic on the exchange. Investors were saying the Israelis have gone into Lebanon and there is going to be war. I think we have nothing to do with that but first reactions are very impulsive, said Hashem Ghoneim of El Nour Securities. Mohamed Kotb of Gezira Asset Managament said the market had already met technical resistance when the CASE 30 index approached the 5,500-point level before the news from Lebanon kicked in late in the session. There was a political side [to the decline], with the Israelis. This news drove people to profit-take, he said. The hardest-hit stock was the usual market leader, investment bank EFG-Hermes, which fell 8.7 percent to last trade at LE 33.50 ($5.84). All 10 most heavily traded stocks ended down, including Ezz Steel Rebars, which lost 5 percent, and Commercial International Bank, down 2.2 percent. Mobile phone operator Mobinil, another commonly traded stock, slipped 8.4 percent to LE 141.03. But Alexandria Commercial and Maritime Bank rose 5 percent to LE 12.47 on news that Union National Bank of the United Arab Emirates had bought the Egyptian government s 58 percent stake in the bank at LE 23 a share. The buyer has undertaken to buy the rest of the shares in the Alexandria bank at the same price from private shareholders who are willing to sell, the stock exchange said. The benchmark Hermes index fell 2.9 percent to close at 47,166.70 points, while the broader CIBC index slipped 1.7 percent to end at 202.25 points. The widely watched Case 30 index was down 3.0 percent to 5,325.50 points. Reuters
Israel-Lebanon conflict hits Egyptian stocks
