Driven by local selling, Egypt's main index shed 74 points on Thursday, traders said. Locals made net sell-offs worth LE40 million ($7 million), they added. Arab and non-Arab investors made net purchases worth LE35 million and LE5 million respectively. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 fell by 1.09 per cent, ending the week's trading at 6,762.94 points. The EGX 70, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, shed 0.15 per cent to 687.13 points. Commercial International Bank (CIB) shed 1.18 per cent to LE41.99 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, plunged by 2.12 per cent LE4.15 per share, the lowest close since March. EFG-Hermes, the country's largest investment bank by market value, dipped by 1.59 per cent to LE33.46 per share. In a related event, Raya Holding for Technology and Communications made a consolidated nine-month net profit of LE29.2 million, up 15 per cent from a year earlier, Reuters reported. Raya, which sells mobile handsets, runs call centres and provides outsourced IT services, made a nine-month net profit of LE25.3 million in 2009. Credit Agricole Egypt said its nine-month net profit rose 14.7 per cent year-on-year to LE323.6 million. Torah Cement posted a one per cent rise in nine-month net profit to LE270 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Shares in the company closed up 3.3 percent at LE30.5 before the results were published. Meanwhile, the euro dipped after skidding to a five-week low the previous day, with tensions in the eurozone periphery expected to trigger further selling and a potential retest of key technical support. The dollar lost steam after four days of gains but remained close to significant barriers which, if broken, could see its short-covering rebound stretch higher against the likes of the yen and euro. "There are mounting tensions in the eurozone, with Portugal's bond auction yesterday showing yields are on a strong rise," said Lutz Karpowitz, currency analyst at Commerzbank. "This, together with problems in Ireland, is putting pressure on the euro and I would expect further downward movement from here," he said. "The euro faces a serious threat in the form of a spiralling peripheral debt situation. It's only the negativity surrounding the dollar that's saving euro/dollar from a sharper correction lower," said Tom Levinson, currency analyst at ING. The euro traded at $1.3756 versus the dollar, down 0.2 percent on the day, holding above a five-week low of $1.3670 hit on Wednesday. Traders said demand for downside options was increasing, with one-month $1.3200 strikes proving popular, while technical analysts said a daily close below the October low at $1.3690 would be needed for the euro to make a further significant move lower.
