CAIRO - Egypt's main index rose on non-Arab buying on Wednesday, traders said. Non-Arab investors made net purchases worth LE69.4 million ($12 million), they added. Locals and Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE46.5 million and LE22.6 million respectively. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 gained 0.56 per cent to 6,773.66 points. The EGX 70, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, rose by 1.42 per cent to 743.15 points. Volume hit LE1.5 billion, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Orascom Construction Industries shed 0.58 per cent to LE265.01 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, rose by 1.43 per cent to LE4.26 per share. Commercial International Bank (CIB) gained 0.65 per cent to LE42.05 per share. Globally, stocks rose and US government bonds saw their worst sell-off in 18 months as a deal on US taxes highlighted Washington's expansionary fiscal stance and its likely impact on growth and future deficits, Reuters reported. The prospect of higher US deficits forced bond yields near six-month highs and boosted the dollar's appeal. European equities turned positive as investors shifted their attention from eurozone debt worries to focus on the prospects for further recovery, while Wall Street was set to open higher. The US plan for a fiscal boost to an economy struggling with high unemployment contrasts sharply with policy in the eurozone, where a sovereign debt crisis has forced economies into ever harsher rounds of spending cuts. "It's becoming increasingly clear the US is taking a very different approach to the Europeans in dealing with their debt overhang ... they're reflating their way out of it and the Europeans are going the opposite way," said Grant Turley, strategist at ANZ. US Treasury prices have fallen by two per cent in two days after President Barack Obama proposed extending tax cuts aimed at support economic growth, reinforcing the Federal Reserve's multi-billion dollar bond-buying program, but unleashed fears about the longer-term rise in the national debt level. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose by five basis points to 3.19 per cent, having risen to 3.255 per cent in Asian trading, its highest since late June. "At the moment, the market is taking the rise in U.S. yields as a positive for the dollar rather than a supply story," said Adam Cole, global head of FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets. "There are rising expectations for growth, where growth is a scarce commodity." While the economy may gain a much-needed boost from the tax cuts, the move will also likely swell the $1.3 trillion U.S. budget deficit, which has already persisted for nearly two solid years, and this prospect prompted investors to shed Treasuries, thereby driving up the risk premiums on US debt. "The tax cuts have changed the market's landscape," said Arihiro Nagata, fixed income manager at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. "A lot of people are now changing their scenarios. Many economists are saying the tax cuts will push up US growth by 0.5 to one percentage point." The rise in US borrowing costs gave the dollar an edge over the euro among yield-hungry investors, thereby also delivering a blow to gold, which has shed 2.5 percent since hitting a record-high on Tuesday, as its investment appeal diminishes as rates rise. The dollar strength pushed the euro toward important support levels around $1.3200 as the European bloc comes under pressure over high debt levels. The dollar rose and looked to sustain gains in the near-term. The dollar index, a gauge of its performance against a basket of major currencies, rose 0.3 per cent from late US levels to 80.138, moving above its 100-day moving average at 79.981. If sustained that would be a bullish signal. The greenback, which made its biggest one-day gain against the yen in nearly three months on Tuesday, rose a further 0.4 percent to 83.89 yen. It briefly rose above 84 yen, where there is a resistance band through 84.40 that has capped its recent rally. The euro fell 0.1 percent $1.3244. Its failure this week and last to hold above $1.3400 suggests a probe lower, with a sustained break of $1.3180 opening the way for a test of $1.3060/50. Earlier, Japan's Nikkei ended 0.9 per cent higher after hitting its highest intraday level in almost seven months.
