Egyptian stocks rose on Monday as locals were motivated by a bullish sentiment, traders said. Locals made net purchases worth LE206 million ($35.6 million). Arab and non-Arab investors made net sell-offs worth LE80 million and LE126.3 million respectively, according to the Egyptian Exchange. The country's benchmark index EGX 30 gained 0.39 per cent to 6,723.17 points. The EGX 70, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, jumped 2.39 per cent 709.14 points. EFG-Hermes, the country's biggest investment bank by market value, gained 1.96 per cent to LE32.19 per share. Volume hit LE1 billion, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Orascom Construction Industries slipped by 0.2 per cent to LE273.58 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, was flat at LE4.2 per share. Commercial International Bank (CIB) added 0.22 per cent to LE41.44 per share. Globally, profit-taking took the euro off two-month highs and caused eurozone stocks to pare back recent gains amid signs of an improving if uneven recovery by the region's economy, according to Reuters. Debt-ridden Ireland's politics were in focus and emerging market stocks were weak, hurt by inflation worries. But there is also concern about Ireland, which has been at the center of the crisis, after its junior coalition party withdrew from Prime Minister Brian Cowen's government on Sunday, signaling the end of a crisis-riddled administration and hastening an election due on March 11. "You've got to think Ireland's going to come under some pressure... but it remains to be seen whether that upsets the positive tone in the rest of the periphery," a bond trader said. The euro was down half a percent at $1.3569 but only after hitting a new two-month high of $1.3648 in early Asian trading. World shares as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) were slightly lower, weighed down by European and emerging market stocks. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.4 per cent, having started in positive territory. It has been an outperformer for much of this year. Philips Electronics weighed on the index, after reporting lower-than-expected fourth-quarter net profit on poor TV sales. It warned that consumers in mature markets will be reluctant to spend this year. Earlier, concerns about rising inflation gave investors an excuse to book profits in some Asian markets after strong rallies in 2010, but rather than exiting the region, funds were being reallocated to countries seen as having a better grip on price pressures. Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.5 percent, with resource shares popular and recently beaten-down exporters bought amid expectations of robust earnings reports from Japanese firms this week. Spot gold rose around 0.5 per cent to around $1,350 per ounce, after posting its third consecutive weekly loss.
