Egypt stock indexes dip over 4.5 pct, big caps weigh

CAIRO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Egypt's top two share indexes skidded over 4.5 percent lower on Monday as declines in big cap stocks such as Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) (OCIC.CA)(OCICq.L) triggered a selling frenzy, traders said.

Shares in OCI slid 9.7 percent to a fresh year low of 153 Egyptian pounds ($27.69), while overall the benchmark CASE 30 index .CASE30 lost 4.63 percent to 4,561.06 points on foreign selling.

The rival Hermes index .HRMS shed 4.54 percent and the broader CIBC index .CIBC lost 3.91 percent. Foreign investors were net sellers by a margin of 156 million pounds.

"It's more panic happening today... When a stock like OCI drops, it takes the index down," said Hashem Ghoneim of El Nour Securities.

Shares in Ezz Steel (ESRS.CA)(AEZDq.L), Egypt's biggest steel producer, plunged 11.14 percent to 10.85 pounds despite announcing a dividend of two pounds per share to be distributed within a month.

EFG-Hermes (HRHO.CA)(HRHOq.L), the country's biggest investment bank by market value, plummeted 17.01 percent to 16 pounds the same day the firm said it would buy up to 5 million treasury shares.

"The performance in the market does not reflect any fundamentals," said Wafik Dawood of Naeem Brokerage.

Other big cap decliners included Telecom Egypt (ETEL.CA)(ETELq.L), which lost 11.45 percent to 13.30 pounds, and Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA)(COMIq.L), which shed 2.58 percent to 29.49 pounds.

Heavyweight Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA)(ORTEq.L), the biggest Arab mobile phone operator by subscribers, dipped 4.7 percent to 27.40 pounds. El Sewedy Cables (SWDY.CA), one of the region's biggest cable manufacturers, lost 7.81 percent to 66 pounds.

Traders say the Egyptian market remains guided by market movements in Europe, the United States, and the Arab Gulf region. ($1 = 5.5254 Egyptian pounds) (Writing by Cynthia Johnston)