CAIRO - Egyptian stocks fell on Wednesday as non-Arab investors were driven by a bearish sentiment, traders said. Non-Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE16.3 million ($2.8 million), locals and Arabs made net purchses exceeding LE10.7 million and LE5.5 million respectively. Locals made net sell-offs worth LE38.3 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 shed 0.51 per cent to 6,910.28 points. The EGX 70, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, slipped by 0.27 per cent to 722.01 points. Volume hit LE604 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Commercial International Bank (CIB) shed 2.45 per cent to LE45.87 per share. Orascom Construction Industries gained 0.82 per cent to LE269.09 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, rose by 1.42 per cent to LE4.3 per share. Real-estate developer Talaat Moustafa added 0.86 per cent to LE8.22 per share. Globally, the euro hit an all-time low against the Swiss franc following credit ratings warnings on Portugal and Greece, according to Reuters. European shares traded near 27-month highs on hopes for global economic growth next year. Moody's warned it might cut Portugal's rating, while Fitch made a similar statement about Greece. The announcements kept the countries' bonds under selling pressure. Oil prices rose after data showed that US oil and gasoline inventories are dropping as a cold snap persists in the United States and Europe. The warnings from the ratings agencies reminded investors that eurozone debt problems are far from over, just as markets seek more information on how European officials will deal with fiscal issues in the future. "There's been no clarity on what European Union leaders will do to deal with the debt crisis," said Investec economist Philip Shaw. "That uncertainty, coupled with the threat of downgrades to various peripheral countries has led to more spread widening and a weaker euro." In holiday-thinned trade, the euro fell just under 1.2500 Swiss francs, its weakest since the single currency was launched in 1999. "Clearly these are terrible market conditions and the speed at which the euro is losing ground against the Swiss franc is a bit disconcerting," said Geoffrey Yu, currency strategist at UBS. The euro also hit a lifetime low against the high-yielding Australian dollar, while trading slightly higher on the day against the dollar at $1.3127. Greek 10-year bond yields were little changed at over 12 percent, while Portugal was the notable underperformer with 10-year yields rising 10 basis points to 6.8 per cent. Many analysts argue that markets were already pricing even more gloom for the euro zone's weaker members - Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Belgium - and that ratings agencies were merely playing catch-up.
