Egypt's main stock indexes jumped nearly four percent on Sunday, recovering from eight straight sessions of decline as foreigners bought big caps like Orascom Construction Industries, dealers said. The benchmark Case 30 index gained 3.8 percent to end at 10,560.24 points, while the well watched Hermes index rose 3.9 percent to 91,542.42 points. The broader CIBC index added 4.7 percent to 518.55 points. “It is just a psychological rebound. People are hoping for a more optimistic week, and the weekend calmed down a lot of retail investors,” said Mohamed Radwan of Pharos Securities. Government moves to eliminate tax exemptions in some free zones, raise energy prices and impose a tax on treasury bill interest earlier this month had sent stocks tumbling as foreign investors shed shares, traders said. Market heavyweight Orascom Construction gained 5 percent to 378 Egyptian pounds ($70.53), while regional mobile operator Orascom Telecom rose 2.5 percent to 76.79 pounds. Overall on Sunday, foreigners were net buyers in the market by 145.9 million pounds, accounting for 18.7 percent of trade. Investment bank EFG-Hermes added 3.8 percent to 49.07 pounds, while El Sewedy Cables ended 2.9 percent higher at 123.89 pounds.
