CAIRO: Telecoms firms weighed on Egypt’s main index, which edged down 0.6 percent after selling pressure late in the session.
Traders said volumes are higher than during Sunday’s session, but are still low for the bourse as institutional investors close their mid-year positions.
"Comparing it to yesterday, volumes were higher today, only when the market started going down," said Teymour El-Derini of Naeem brokerage.
Egypt’s fixed-line phone monopoly Telecom Egypt ended down 4 percent after it went ex-dividend.
Heavyweight Orascom Telecom slipped 2.1 percent. The stock has shed more than 30 percent of its value since the Algerian government said on April 28 it would block a key part of a potential deal with South Africa’s MTN.
Talaat Moustafa Group, Egypt’s largest listed developer, gained 0.8 percent.
A government authority in charge of selling land said on Sunday it had appealed a ruling to cancel a contract that gave the developer land for a key project.
"It’s holding at these levels after the news that came out," said Derini.
The EGX30 ended at 6,256 points.
