Egyptian stocks took a dive on Monday on non-Arab selling, traders said. The country's benchmark index EGX 30 slipped by 0.79 per cent, to 5,402.15 points, they added. The broader indexes EGX 70 and EGX 100 were also in the red, falling by 0.43 and 0.56 per cent to 652.16 and 1,000.91 points respectively. Locals and Arabs made net purchases worth LE78.3 million ($13 million) and LE6.5 million respectively, according to Bourse data. Non-Arab investors made net sell-offs worth LE84.8 million. Volume exceeded LE628 million, according to Bourse data. Egypt's heavyweight Commercial International Bank (CIB) shed 1.09 per cent to LE30.06 per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's biggest investment bank by market value, plunged by 2.37 per cent to LE20.56 per share. Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) slipped by 0.06 per cent to LE267.89 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, fell by 0.7 per cent LE4.25 per share. In a related event, the Algerian government's valuation of Orascom Telecom's local mobile phone unit has been delayed because of a disagreement about disclosing company data, two telecoms sector sources told Reuters. The valuation is the first step to the nationalisation of the Djezzy unit, the subject of a protracted row which has knocked the share price of Orascom whose parent company Wind has been sold to Russia's Vimpelcom. Algeria's government hired law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP in January to conduct the valuation and instructed it to complete the work by the end of May. Meanwhile, real estate and hotels firm Orascom Development reported a slump in first-quarter net profit, hit by Egypt's political turmoil. The Swiss-listed company, known mostly for building luxury resorts in Egypt, said on Monday net profit fell to 0.6 million Swiss francs from 26.5 million a year earlier. The figures were for net profit after non-controlling interests. Globally, the euro hovered near a one-month high against the dollar, boosted by prospects of an ECB rate hike and a fresh Greek bailout deal, while concerns about the US economy sent stocks tumbling. On government debt markets, growth worries outweighed expectations of fresh aid for Athens, supporting demand for safe-haven assets to send Bund futures higher. The single currency continued a recent strong run after a review of Greece's accounts by international lenders on Friday allayed fears of a near-term default and opened the way for an injection of fresh funds. The euro was trading at $1.4614 at 10:31 GMT, with a test of $1.50 expected in the coming weeks if the currency can push through resistance at $1.4710. Concerns over the outlook for growth in the world's largest economy following dire US non-farm payrolls numbers on Friday sent Asian shares down overnight and drove fresh falls for European stocks. Emerging market stocks shed 0.1 per cent, the MSCI world equity index 0.1 per cent and the Thomson Reuters global stock index 0.2 per cent. Prospects for reduced energy demand from the United States weighed on crude futures, with the European regional benchmark's July contract down 0.8 percent by 10:34 GMT.
