CAIRO: Egypt s main index EGX30 tumbled 3.8 percent Monday, its biggest one-day fall since Nov. 30, on speculation about President Hosni Mubarak s health because the Egyptian leader has not appeared on television since his surgery, traders said.
The German hospital where he is receiving treatment after undergoing gallbladder surgery just over a week ago said on Monday morning Mubarak s recovery was progressing well.
The market has been hammered, said Teymour El-Derini of Naeem Brokerage. The uncertainty in the market is causing chaos.
Until something comes out and clarifies things, it will continue, he added.
On Nov. 30, the first day of trade following the outbreak of the Dubai World debt crisis, the index dropped almost 8 percent.
Telecom Egypt plunged 8.7 percent after the company proposed a reduced dividend and delayed the launch of an undersea cable until the second quarter from the original end-2009.
Telecom Egypt reported fourth quarter net profit of LE 481 million, well short of the average LE 732 million projection of nine analysts.
Orascom Telecom, which said it successfully completed an $800 million rights issue, fell 6.7 percent.
Orascom Construction Industries fell 3.6 percent. Its 50 percent unit BESIX unit won a $1.3 billion contact in Abu Dhabi in a joint venture with Samsung, it said on Sunday.
Ezz Steel, whose Dekheila unit posted a less severe than estimated 78 percent decline in net profit, dipped 2.1 percent. El Ezz Dekheila slipped 1.9 percent.
The EGX30 ended at 6,353 points. -Reuters
