Cairo’s index rose 2.5 percent but is still down 43 percent this year and volumes until recently were near multi-year lows.
Dealers say short-term trading has become the norm given the uncertain political backdrop and a lack of visibility for investors.
“It’s the same scenario being repeated. The market crashes and every dip is a buy. Events are quickly reflected in the market,” said Omar Darwish at CIBC.
Market heavyweight Orascom Construction gained 5.6 percent and was also the most traded stock.
Commercial International Bank and Orascom Telecom rose by 2.5 percent and 2.2 percent.
In the UAE’s capital, National Bank of Abu Dhabi fell 1.5 percent, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank slipped 1.8 percent and Investment Bank dropped 5.9 percent.
“Banks will be interesting once the numbers are out because they will be telling us about the credit quality and loan growth,” said a trader based in Abu Dhabi. “But it’s too risky to be buying banks before the numbers.”
The index slipped 0.4 percent to its lowest close since August 2010.
“There’s been nothing new on the table recently but we’ve had a sentiment swing (in world markets). Until you see real concrete proposals, the market will trade on very small margins,” the trader added, speaking on European politicians trying to contain the region’s banking crisis.
Dubai’s share index ended little changed, up 0.06 percent with only 33.7 million shares exchanging hands, against the 50-day average of 68.5 million shares.
Drake and Scull gained 1.2 percent, accounting for a third of all shares traded on the index.
Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest stock by market value, rebounded as investors picked up the battered stock.
Its shares rose 1.1 percent, recovering from Wednesday’s 27-week low. It had slumped after announcing it would take over struggling Islamic lender Dubai Bank.
Elsewhere, Qatar fell 0.3 percent to 8,397 points, with investors locking in gains following a five-day rise.
Qatar National Bank fell 0.5 percent, Qatar Navigations shed 1.8 percent and Qatar Islamic Bank slipped 0.5 percent.
Bucking the trend, Industries Qatar (IQ) rose 0.9 percent after its third-quarter earnings beat estimates.
“Although the results look alright with growth primarily on back of more capacity, quarter-on-quarter there is a decent decline of 14 percent. This ties is with the global trend of margins tightening,” said Ibrahim Masood, senior investment officer at Mashreq Bank.
In Oman, Bank Muscat, the largest lender by market value, rose 0.6 percent after reporting a 15.8 percent increase in third-quarter earnings a day earlier. The bank’s results topped analysts’ estimates.
In Kuwait, logistics firm Agility jumped 6.8 percent to its highest level since May 9.
“The market still thinks they are in talks with large armies even though Agility denied signing a deal,” said a Kuwait-based trader.
The stock hit a four-month high on Sunday on speculation about a contract. On Tuesday, the firm denied reports that it had won a military contract worth up to $700 million, sending its shares lower.
