Stock indexes climbed slightly on Tuesday thanks to foreign investors, who lead purchasing for a third consecutive session.

Foreigners were behind LE76.6 million of stock purchases, while Egyptians and Arab investors sold LE66 million and LE10.5 million worth of shares during trading hours.

The benchmark EGX30 index, which tracks the performance of Egypt’s top 30 companies, grew 0.8 percent or 46 points to settle at 5,795 points, with transactions valued at LE 412.9 million.

The EGX70 index for small and medium-sized business increased 0.2 percent, while the EGX100 index rose 0.3 percent, causing the market value of shares to jump LE1.9 billion. The capital market also climbed to LE386.7 billion.

Capital market analyst Ashraf Naguib said this week’s trend of foreign purchases does not necessarily mean investor confidence is back, since foreigners have shown a tendency to sell their stocks in the past two years.

He added that foreign trading is contingent on the political situation and whether the government can lock down a US$4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund and come through on upcoming parliamentary elections.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm