For the second day in a row, non-Arabs pushed Egyptian indexes up on Tuesday, traders said. Non-Arab investors made net purchases worth LE105.6 million ($18.6 million), they added. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 added 0.3 per cent, ending the day's trading at 6,461.4 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, rose by 0.65 per cent to 618.5 points. Volume exceeded LE1.4 billion. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, gained 1.06 per cent, closing at LE260.42 ($45.3) per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, slipped by 0.58 per cent to LE5.13 per share. Egypt's Ministry of Finance will offer seven-year bonds worth 1.5 billion ($265 million) in an auction on August 16, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has said, according to Reuters. The seven-year bonds, which mature on February 16, 2017, carry a coupon of 12.60 per cent and are sold by the central bank, acting on behalf of the finance ministry. Settlement will take place the day after the auction. Globally, the dollar rose and world stocks slipped as investors stayed cautious ahead of likely moves by the US Federal Reserve to warn about and possibly prop up a faltering economic recovery. Commodity prices eased after data showed Chinese imports slowed in July. US consumer spending is petering out and manufacturing is losing steam, while the unemployment rate is stuck at 9.5 percent. The euro fell 0.6 per cent to $1.3153, sterling slipped 1 percent to $1.5749 and the Australian dollar was down 0.7 per cent at $0.9103. World stocks measured by the MSCI All-Country World Index eased 0.7 per cent. The MSCI emerging markets benchmark dropped one per cent, with China's Shanghai Composite Index down 2.9 per cent after data showed Chinese import growth below expectations, pointing to slowing domestic demand and economic activity. In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 0.7 per cent, led lower by basic resources stocks following the Chinese import data.
