CAIRO - For the second day in a row, Egypt's main index slipped on Thursday as big caps were pulled down by a bearish sentiment, traders said. Non-Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE22.9 ($3.9 million), according to the Egyptian Exchange. Locals and Arabs made net purchases worth LE12.6 million and LE10.3 million respectively. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 shed 0.55 per cent, ending the week's trading at 6,905.14 points. The EGX 70, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, rose slightly by 0.09 per cent to 739.04 points. Volume hit LE953 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Commercial International Bank (CIB) fell by 0.91 per cent to LE45.98 per share. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, shed 0.27 per cent, closing at LE265.63 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, lost 0.23 per cent to LE4.34 per share. Orascom Telecom has said its Algerian unit Djezzy received a "completely unfounded" $230 million final tax reassessment for its 2008 and 2009 financial years from Algerian authorities that it would challenge. "OT and Orascom Telecom Algeria, or OTA, intend to take all necessary legal steps to challenge this completely unfounded reassessment," Orascom Telecom said in a statement carried by Dow Jones Newswires. The reassessment is considered "a final notification" after OT was slapped with the $230 million tax bill back in September, OT said. "This reassessment comes despite the fact that OT had already paid the taxes due for the same years," the company added. Cairo-based investment bank CI Capital said the news would likely be neutral for the stock. "We think this is neutral to OT's stock price as we believe the market has already priced in the full tax claim since its initial announcement back in September 2010," the bank said in a note Wednesday. Sawiris said on November 10 that Orascom might seek international arbitration if talks over resolving the Djezzy dispute with the Algerian government fail. Egyptian lender Housing and Development Bank, preparing for a possible merger, posted a 13.3 per cent fall in nine-month net profit to LE170 million ($29 million). The figure was unaudited and no other details were given, according to Reuters. Globally, oil giant BP was the biggest faller on Britain's blue-chip board, as investors fretted that a US government lawsuit may mean the cost of its oil spill will be far higher than earlier expected, Reuters reported. European markets were little changed in thin trade as investors digested a key Spanish debt auction ahead of a summit at which they hope EU leaders will agree fresh steps to tackle the region's debt crisis. US Treasuries won some reprieve from a sell-off near key support levels. Markets are not anticipating any significant developments from the summit, though any positive news would likely support the euro and risk appetite. "Spain is going to be the issue, with the threat of a downgrade, investors will be looking for comments from the EU meeting," Will Hedden, a sales trader at IG Index, said. "We don't want Spain to get bailed out. If it does, it sends a big message to investors that if an economy as big as Spain is fragile, then the eurozone may be a risky place to do business." Spain's Treasury paid 5.5 to 6 per cent to sell more than two billion euros of 10- and 15-year bonds, with yields rising sharply from the previous corresponding sales a day after ratings agency Moody's put the country's sovereign debt on review for a possible downgrade. European stocks traded with gains of around 0.2 per cent at 1,129.45. The euro was up 0.2 per cent against the dollar at $1.3240 after coming under pressure on Tuesday on Moody's Spain warning. Ten-year US Treasury futures expiring in March were up 19/64 after plumbing a 7-month low overnight. "The market is very difficult now ... but what I do sense is that we've got down to levels that are technically supportive," said a trader at a European firm. "It's difficult to sell at this low and initiate a new position," he added.
