The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) indices showed an upward trend in the first minutes of trading on Wednesday, backed by intensive purchases by institutions and foreign and Arab investment funds.

The market capital gained about 2 billion pounds to reach 415.7 billion pounds.

The EGX 30 benchmark index was up by 0.85 percent to reach 6475.27 points.

The broader EGX 70 index of the leading smaller and mid cap enterprises (SME) rose by 0.34 percent to 357.29 points.

The all-embracing EGX 100 index also increased by 0.28 percent to close at 748.74 points.