Egypt’s benchmark index rose 1.4 percent, cooling down after heavyweight Orascom Telecom pulled back from early gains to end up 1.3 percent.
Traders said investors lack appetite for Egyptian stocks as worry sets in over what might happen over in US and European markets while the Egyptian exchange is closed on Friday.
"The market started to pull back slowly throughout the session. Investors are quite worried about what might happen over the weekend in US and European markets," said Hashem Ghoneim of Pyramids Capital.
Orascom Construction Industries slid 1.2 percent and developer Talaat Moustafa Group shed 0.1 percent. Ezz Steel added 1 percent, while Palm Hills Developments rose 4.1 percent.
Traders said a market rally will likely depend on news about Orascom’s talks to sell some assets to South Africa’s MTN.
"We really need to see what is going to happen with that deal before anything else happens. That is the most important thing right now," Ghoneim said.
"If a deal goes through, we’ll see another rally in the market," added Sally Refaat of Pharos Securities.
The 30-company index closed at 6,518 points.
