The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) continued its upward trend at the close of Thursday's trading, backed by a state of optimism which prevailed in the market after the head of the taxes authority said he will hold a societal dialogue with the market players over the tax on stock dividends and capital gains to decide whether it will be amended or not.

The market capital achieved gains worth EGP 6.7 billion to reach EGP 499.8 billion, after transactions hit EGP 675.5 million.

The EGX 30 benchmark index soared 2.21 percent to close at 8,672.29 points.

The broader EGX 70 index of the leading smaller and mid cap enterprises (SME) rose by 2.01 percent to 475.44 points.

The all-embracing EGX 100 index also increased by 1.8 percent to close at 971.75 points.