By Reuters
CAIRO: Egypt’s benchmark index dropped for a second day, retreating further from an eight-month high reached last week when optimism grew that Egypt was recovering from a year of political and economic turmoil.
Gains since the start of the year have boosted the index by around 50 percent. The index slid 1.8 percent to 5,300 points on Sunday. Traders said it is pushed down by profit taking.
Orascom Telecom, which is scheduled to release fourth-quarter results on Monday, dropped 5.1 percent. Orascom Telecom Media and Technology fell 5.3 percent and Commercial International Bank 4.3 percent.
Dairy products maker Juhayna dropped 2.3 percent, partly on concern that an outbreak of foot and mouth disease among cattle in Egypt may eventually force it to rely on powdered milk imports, cutting into profit margins, said Hisham Halaldeen of Naeem Holding.
A report in Al-Mal newspaper on Sunday said about 255 head of cattle had died from the disease and nearly 5,000 were suspected of infection.
The highly contagious virus, which has proven very expensive to eradicate elsewhere, could be especially costly in Egypt, where the government has been overwhelmed by political issues, Halaldeen said.
“I think this could be big in three to six months,” he said.
