Egypt's stock market lost the day's gains after news that the two sons of the country's ousted president will face charges of stock market manipulation in a criminal court.
The index finished 0.04 higher, having risen as much as 1 percent intra-day, after the public prosecutor's statement on state TV said former President Hosni Mubarak's sons will be tried for charges of market manipulation.
Gamal and Alaa Mubarak are already standing trial with their father in a case in which the former president is facing charges of graft, as well as complicity in the killing of protesters who rose up against him last year. The verdict in that trial is expected on Saturday.
Mubarak's eldest son, Alaa, is a businessman. His youngest son, Gamal, a former banker, was widely viewed as a being groomed for Egypt's top job until Mubarak was toppled on February 11, 2011. Both are in their 40s.
Mubarak, his family and his aides and associates were accused by protesters of amassing wealth illegally while leaving swathes of the country in poverty.
Egypt's public prosecutor said in a statement Alaa, Gamal and seven others, were referred to the criminal court on charges of violating stock market and central bank rules to gain unlawful profits through dealings in shares in Al-Watany Bank of Egypt, a listed bank.
All those accused in the case were released on bail and barred from travel, except Gamal and Alaa, who were ordered to remain in detention and had their assets frozen pending the trial.
Egypt's investment bank EFG-Hermes also dipped 2.6 percent after the news as the prosecutor's statement said that others referred to trial alongside Mubarak's sons included two board members and joint chief executives officers of the bank, Yasser al-Mallawany and Hassan Heikal.
On Tuesday, the benchmark share index dropped 1.1 percent to a six-week low after an arson attack on the headquarters of one of the country's two presidential candidates fueled jitters that the political uncertainty of the last year may go on for many more months.
On Sunday, Egypt's stock exchange made its largest one-day decline in two months on concerns over the preliminary presidential election outcome which showed that Mohamed Morsy and Ahmed Shafiq are heading to the run-off.
