CAIRO - Egyptian stocks rose on Sunday as big caps were in the black, traders said. Egypt's benchmark index EGX 30 rose by 1.14 per cent to 5,062.08 points. The broader indexes EGX 70 and EGX 100 added 1.56 and 1.22 per cent to 627.05 and 952.95 points respectively. Volume totalled LE452.5 million ($75.8 million), according to Bourse data. Talaat Moustafa, the country's biggest listed builder, jumped by 5.34 per cent to LE3.55 per share. Egypt's heavyweight Commercial International Bank (CIB) rose by one per cent to LE29.17 per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's biggest investment bank by market value, gained 0.68 per cent to LE19.13 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, added 0.99 per cent LE4.09 per share. Orascom Construction Industries added 0.63 per cent to LE244.93 per share. Mobinil slipped by 0.78 per cent to LE135.24 per share. Meanwhile, UAE markets slipped in thin trade as investor sentiment is dampened by Friday's weakness in global markets and a fall in euro, according to Reuters. Abu Dhabi's index slid 0.2 per cent to 2,667 points, where all stocks were flat to lower. Dana Gas fell 2.9 percent as it faced delayed payments of $148 million for gas from the Egyptian government which could have an impact on its future investments in the country. Sentiment may be lifted by real estate firm Eshraq's oversubscribed initial public offering. The firm may list on the Abu Dhabi bourse within two months. Eshraq raised 825 million dirhams ($225 million), its target amount, before the IPO closed on Wednesday. "It's a sign that the market is ripe now for further IPOs with the right story," said Haissam Arabi, chief executive and fund manager at Gulfmena Alternative Investments. "This is great news." Elsewhere, losers outnumber gainers eleven to one in Dubai where the benchmark fell 0.5 per cent to 1,589 points. The index is down in the past five of seven sessions. Arabtec and Dubai Financial Market dropped 0.7 and 0.8 percent respectively. Bucking the trend, Dubai-based mortgage lender Tamweel rose 4.7 percent on its fourth day of trading after a 30-month suspension. The stock had tumbled in its first three sessions of trading. On Friday, US stocks ended a second week of losses on a down note, reflecting growing worries that stocks are on the precipice of a pullback. Concern about slowed growth worldwide, the coming end of a supportive Federal Reserve policy and the fear of a worsening eurozone debt crisis are undermining the stock market's ability to maintain an upward direction. Financial stocks took the biggest hit, with the S&P Financial Index falling 1.5 per cent. The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 100.17 points, or 0.79 per cent, at 12,595.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index finished down 10.88 points, or 0.81 per cent, at 1,337.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 34.57 points, or 1.21 per cent, at 2,828.47.
