Spearheaded by non-Arab buying, Egypt's main index gained 72.7 points on Sunday, traders said. Non-Arabs made net purchases worth LE148.2 million ($25.7 million), they added. Locals and Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE138.2 million and LE9.9 million respectively. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 rose by 1.09 per cent to 6,762.44 points. The EGX 70, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, was slightly up by 0.07 per cent to 735.05 points. Volume hit LE692 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Orascom Construction Industries headed for its biggest daily gain since May on speculation the Cairo-based company may get contracts in Qatar after the Arab Gulf country won the rights to host soccer's 2022 World Cup, Bloomberg reported. The shares of Egypt's biggest publicly traded builder gained 3.2 per cent, the biggest increase since May 26, to LE266.75. "It is poised for more gains tomorrow as investors expect the company to be awarded more contracts in Qatar," said Ashraf Akhnoukh, senior equity sales trader at Cairo-based Commercial International Brokerage Co. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, added 0.48 per cent to LE4.22 per share. Commercial International Bank (CIB) inched up by 0.62 per cent to LE42 per share. Meanwhile, the average yield on Egyptian 91-day Treasury bills rose to 9.031 per cent at an auction from 8.681 per cent at the last auction on November 21, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said, according to Reuters. The CBE had invited bids for bills worth LE1.5 billion, but accepted bids worth only LE500 million. The rates of those accepted ranged from 8.801 per cent to 9.098 per cent versus a range of 8.549-8.742 per cent at the previous auction. The bills, for issue on December 7, mature on March 8, 2011. The average yield on Egyptian 182-day Treasury bills rose a little to 9.891 per cent from 9.808 percent. The CBE asked for bids worth LE2 billion, but accepted LE1.5 billion. It accepted bids at rates of between 9.701 and 9.95 percent versus 9.501-9.86 per cent at the previous auction. The bills are for issue on December 7 and mature on June 7, 2011. On Friday, US stocks rose for a third day as investors looked past a disappointing jobs report and focused on growth elsewhere in the economy, according to Reuters. Stocks in Europe ended slightly lower, but analysts predicted the overall trend is for equity markets to push higher. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 19.68 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 11,382.09, near a four-week high. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 3.18 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 1,224.71 and the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 12.11 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 2,591.46. The late-day US stock gains in the face of a slack labour market suggested investors believed there could be gains into year-end, analysts said. Wall Street's recent rally only slowed after the Labour Department said US businesses added 39,000 nonfarm payrolls in November, falling short of the 140,000 expected by economists. The unemployment rate rose to a seven-month high of 9.8 per cent. Overall employment for September and October was revised upward to show 38,000 more jobs created than first estimated. Investors also expect the weak employment report will keep government support for financial markets in play.
