Egyptian indexes slipped on Wednesday on profit-taking, ending a seven-day winning streak, traders said. Egypt's benchmark index EGX 30 fell by 0.3 per cent to 5,187.89 points. The broader indexes EGX 70 and EGX 100 were also in the red, shedding 0.26 and 0.24 per cent to 628.66 and 963.24 points respectively. Locals made net sell-offs worth LE28.7 million ($4.8 million). Arab and non-Arab investors made net purchases worth LE22 million and LE6.7 million, according to Bourse data. Volume totalled LE612.6 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Egypt's heavyweight Commercial International Bank (CIB) gained 0.95 per cent to LE29.3 per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's biggest investment bank by market value, added 0.31 per cent to LE19.44 per share. Talaat Moustafa, the country's biggest listed builder, jumped by 5.75 per cent to LE4.23 per share. Orascom Construction Industries fell by 1.96 per cent to LE251.02 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, dipped by 1.42 per cent LE4.17 per share. Orascom Telecom said it would not pay a dividend for 2010 because of a lack of cashflow from several foreign businesses. "We have decided not to issue a dividend because of the lack of cashflow to the company in 2010 from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Canada and Africa as well as the negative impact from our Algerian unit," vice chairman Emad Farid was quoted by Reuters as saying. Orascom Telecom is in dispute with Algeria, which wants to buy Orascom's local unit Djezzy and blocked Orascom from transferring the unit's profit back to the parent company in Egypt. Meanwhile, world stocks climbed off four-week lows and the euro recovered some ground against the dollar as investors sought bargains in recently hard-hit markets. The hunt for cheaper assets, however, was tempered by disappointing US economic data on Tuesday and continuing concerns about the eurozone's struggle to control debt in its peripheral economies, particularly Greece. Europe's top financial officials broke a taboo on Tuesday and acknowledged for the first time that Greece may have to restructure its debts, a move which could stoke Europe's sovereign debt crisis. Yields on a German bond auction were lower and those at a Portuguese sale higher than in previous bidding, reflecting the perceived safety of bonds from the euro zone's strongest economy while countries on the bloc's periphery struggle.
