Orascom Telecom dragged Egypt's main index down on Tuesday, ending a five-day gaining streak, traders said. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 shed 0.18 per cent to 6,829.34 points. The EGX 70, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, slipped by 0.2 per cent to 684.72 points. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, fell by 2.3 per cent to LE4.24 ($0.74)per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's largest investment bank by market value, rose by 1.87 per cent to LE33.15 per share. Orascom Construction Industries shed 0.53 per cent to LE279.06 per share. Talaat Moustafa Group gained one per cent to LE8.06 per share. In a related event, GB Auto has said its third-quarter net profit rose 11.4 per cent year-on-year to LE71.4 million, according to Reuters. The firm, Egypt's biggest listed automobile assembler, said net profit was 64.1 million pounds in the same quarter a year earlier. Meanwhile, European shares hit a two-year high, with several companies including Vodafone and Barclays gaining after upbeat profit statements, and with the macroeconomic backdrop boosting sentiment. The European benchmark is up more than 72 per cent from its lifetime low of March, 2009, with several major economies having emerged from recession, helped by stimulus from governments and central banks worldwide. Vodafone, the world's largest mobile operator by revenue, rose 1.5 percent after raising its full-year profit outlook and saying it had agreed to sell its interests in Japanese carrier SoftBank for 3.1 billion pounds ($5 billion). "You've had the best of both worlds in equity markets. You've had good data, particularly in jobs, earnings growth and the Fed stimulus has brought bond yields down," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers in Dublin. "The background is right for markets to break above the highs." Barclays rose 2.1 per cent after the bank reported a sharp improvement in bad debts that lifted underlying third-quarter profit. Miners rose as the price of copper and other metals gained, partly on worries about shortage of supply. Copper has hit a 27-month high even as the dollar has strengthened. West African-focused gold miner Randgold Resources rose 3.4 percent after saying it expects output to rise significantly in the fourth quarter, though it posted lower-than-expected production in the third quarter. Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC40 rose between 0.3 and 0.6 percent.
