CAIRO: Egypt’s Orascom Telecom (OT) reversed early gains to end 0.9 percent lower after a flurry of trade in the last half hour of the session, denting broader market gains buoyed by positive global sentiment.
OT dominated trade by turnover, accounting for almost 40 percent of capital flow. Its volume was in line with its 90-day average, unusual for a Sunday. The rest of the market was quiet, traders said.
"Without OT in the market, they would have ended the session an hour ago," said Omar Darwish from CIBC brokerage.
A newspaper said OT was still negotiating the sale of some of its African assets, reviving hopes for a possible deal after failed talks with South Africa’s MTN.
OT also denied it had offered to pay the Algerian government for it to drop its claimed right of first refusal over OT unit Djezzy, the hitch which undid the MTN deal.
The EGX30 index added 58 points, or 0.9 percent, to end at 6,301 points.
The next biggest stock by turnover, Orascom Construction (OCI), gained 1.7 percent with a fraction of OT’s volumes. SODIC added 2.6 percent, while Commercial International Bank shed 0.8 percent.
