CAIRO: Egypt’s benchmark stock index dipped 1.9 percent as developer Talaat Moustafa Group fell after a Cairo court ratified a death sentence against former chairman Hisham Talaat Moustafa.
Shares dropped 4.7 percent after the court reiterated a death sentence for Moustafa over the murder-for-hire of a Lebanese singer.
CI Capital Research said it expected the ratification to have a negative effect on shares over the short term, but that “strong fundamentals would provide support over the long term. It retains a “strong buy recommendation on the stock.
“Over the long run we expect the death sentence to have a diminishing impact on TMG’s share price as the company possesses strong fundamentals driven from its strong operations, strong financial structure and efficient cash management, CI said in a research note.
The Talaat Moustafa ruling, however, had been expected, and the market was also responding to regional selling pressure that pushed several Gulf markets lower, said Mohamed Radwan of Pharos Securities.
Heavyweight Orascom Construction Industries declined 5.1 percent and Orascom Telecom lost loses 4.4 percent. -Reuters
