Spearheaded by foreign buying, Egyptian stocks kicked off September on a stronger note on Wednesday, traders said. Arabs and non-Arabs made net purchases worth LE10.2 million ($1.8 million) and LE56.6 million respectively, they added. Local investors made net sell-offs worth LE66.8 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 jumped 1.33 per cent, ending the day's trading at 6,493.28 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, added 2.07 per cent to 602.17 points. Volume hit LE488 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Meanwhile, strong readings from Asia helped offset concerns that the US economy is slowing to an extent that would force the Federal Reserve to embark on a policy of unconventional easing. "After what could be considered a washout August, September is starting with a flourish," said Ben Potter, research analyst at IG Markets. The MSCI world equity index rose 0.3 per cent, moving further away from a seven-week low hit last week. The benchmark index is still down nearly seven percent since January. In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 0.2 per cent, led by mining shares such as Anglo American. Emerging stocks added 0.6 per cent while US crude oil rose 0.4 per cent to $72.19 a barrel. German government bond futures fell 8 ticks. The dollar, which still tends to suffer when investors buy into more riskier assets and currencies, lost 0.4 percent against a basket of major currencies. Conversely, bearishness about the US economy itself is also weighing on the dollar, with minutes of the Fed's Aug 10 meeting showing the central bank would consider additional easing steps if the outlook weakened "appreciably." The meeting was held against a darkening backdrop, and the Fed, in a significant policy shift, decided to reinvest maturing mortgage-related securities in government debt so its support for the stumbling recovery did not fade. "We've seen a reprieve for risk from the data overnight but I'm of the opinion you sell rallies in riskier currencies." said Kenneth Broux, markets strategist at Lloyds Banking Group. "The market will keep buying safe havens such as the yen and the Swiss franc if US data continues to disappoint." The yen rose 0.1 per cent to 84.09 per dollar, around half a yen away from last week's 15-year high of 83.58. The euro gained 0.3 per cent to $1.2727.
