CAIRO - Big caps pulled Egypt's main index down on Sunday, but the broader EGX 70 index gained 2.15 per cent, traders said. Local and Arab investors made net purchases worth LE256.8 million ($44.6 million) and LE316.9 million respectively. Non-Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE573.8 million. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 shed 0.7 per cent, ending the day's trading at 6,789.41 points. The EGX 70, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, closed at 741.22 points. Volume hit LE1.65 billion, according to the Egyptian Exchange. On Thursday, Egyptian real estate firm Amer Group's initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed 5.8 times, its advisor said. Amer offered shares at LE2.8 in a deal valuing the company at 5.7 billion pounds ($988 million), according to Reuters calculations. Trading on the company's shares will start tomorrow. Orascom Construction Industries slipped by 0.87 per cent to LE268.55 per share. Commercial International Bank fell by 0.71 per cent to LE41.9 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, lost 0.91 per cent to LE4.37 per share. Commercial Internnational Bank (CIB) shed 0.72 per cent to LE41.6 per share. Talaat Moustafa, the country's biggest developer, fell by one per cent to LE7.91 per share. On Friday, commodity-related shares led US stocks lower in a shortened post-holiday session as investors unloaded risky assets on worries that eurozone debt problems may spread, according to Reuters. Consumer stocks were also a major focus as Black Friday, often the biggest shopping day of the year, began what is expected to be the strongest holiday shopping season in three years. The US dollar rallied while the euro slid to a new two-month low amid fears that Portugal and Spain could follow Ireland in needing bailouts to shore up their economies. The S&P materials index dropped 1.2 per cent as key base metals prices fell, pressured by the advancing greenback and after the Shanghai Futures Exchange raised margin requirements, prompting liquidation of speculative positions. The S&P financial index fell 1.1 per cent, with Bank of America down 1.2 per cent at $11.14. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 95.28 points, or 0.85 per cent, to end at 11,092. The Standard & Poor's 500 slipped 8.95 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 1,189.40. The Nasdaq Composite lost 8.56 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 2,534.56. For the week, the Dow dropped one per cent and the S&P 500 fell 0.86 per cent, but the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.65 per cent. Retail shares were sluggish despite the upbeat sentiment over Black Friday. Discount retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc fell 0.5 per cent to $53.74 and Target Corp shed 0.6 per cent to $56.88. But Macy's Inc, operator of its namesake retail chain and upscale Bloomingdale's, edged up 0.4 per cent to $26.
