Non-Arabs helped Egyptian stocks reduce its early losses on Monday, traders said. But the market closed mixed as the EGX 70, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, gained 0.6 per cent to 526.43 points. For the ninth day in a row, the country's benchmark index EGX 30 fell by 0.77 per cent, ending the day's trading at 5,850.38 points. Egyptian and Arab investors made net sell-offs worth LE12.8 million ($2.3 million) and LE8.7 million respectively, traders added. Non-Arabs made net purchases worth LE21.5 million. Volume was light at LE480 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Orascom Construction Industries, the country's largest builder by market value, rose by 1.83 per cent to LE225.34 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, slipped by 0.41 per cent to LE4.84 per share. Mobinil plunged by 2.54 per cent to LE161.71 per share. Shares in developer Talaat Moustafa shed 2.42 per cent, to LE6.86. In a related event, the average yield on Egyptian 182-day Treasury bills fell a fraction to 10.497 per cent at an auction on Sunday from 10.542 percent at the last comparable auction on June 20, according to Reuters. The Central Bank of Egypt accepted bids worth LE2 billion, the same amount it was seeking. It accepted bids at rates between 10.451 and 10.520 per cent compared to a range of 10.249 to 10.571 per cent at the previous auction. The bills are for issue on July 6 and mature on January 4, 2011. Meanwhile, world stock prices fell for the fourth day running and the dollar traded close to two-month lows on growing concerns of slowdowns in the United States and China -- the two main pillars of global growth. Data showing the US labour market shrank for the first time this year in June, slower Chinese manufacturing activity and eurozone austerity measures fueled concerns over prospects for the global economy. "Double-dip (recession) fears are the pervading influence on market psychology at present even as European sovereign (debt) concerns appear to be easing," said Mitul Kotecha, global head of foreign exchange strategy at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong. World stocks measured by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) All-Country World Index drifted 0.1 per cent lower after three consecutive sessions of declines. The index has lost 16 per cent since mid-April, and is down 11 per cent for the year. The index carried a one-year forward price-to-earnings ratio of 11.9, a level last seen in April 2009 and well below its 10-year average of 15.42. By comparison, MSCI emerging equities index had a one-year forward P/E of 10.76, in line with its 10-year average of 10.8. Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 was flat, with the continent's banks dipping 0.1 percent. However, "there is a certain amount of skepticism that the stress tests (on banks) ... will either be fudged or the complete results won't be published. What we need is clarity," said Felicity Smith, fund manager at Bedlam Asset Management. In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei average put on 0.7 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.8 per cent. The euro paused after last week's boost from unwinding of short and leveraged positions. It slipped 0.3 per cent to $1.2529 and dipped 0.3 per cent to 109.98 yen.
