CAIRO, 3 November 2003 — Profit-taking on telecom stocks dragged the Egyptian stock market to a lower close yesterday in low volume dealing during a trading session shortened for Ramadan, traders said. The trading day during Ramadan ends at 1.30 p.m. (1130 GMT) — two hours earlier than usual. The benchmark Hermes index fell 117.22 points, or 1.1 percent, to a last quote of 10,827.18. The broader CIBC index fell 0.59 points, or 0.7 percent, to 82.53 points. “The telecom companies Orascom Telecom (OT) and MobiNil led the market down,” one trader said. “The telecoms basically continued their trend of profit-taking,” another said.