CAIRO - For the third day in a row, Egyptian indexes fell on Wednesday on non-Arab selling, traders said. Locals and Arabs made net purchses worth LE15.6 million ($2.6 million), while non-Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE15.7 million, according to Bourse data. The country's benchmark index EGX 30 shed one per cent to 5,473.91 points, they added. The broader indexes EGX 70 and EGX 100 were also in the red, falling by one and 0.92 per cent to 642.43 and 993 points respectively. Volume exceeded LE1.2 billion, according to Bourse data. Egypt's heavyweight Commercial International Bank (CIB) shed 1.5 per cent to LE30.18 per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's biggest investment bank by market value, slid by 2.29 per cent to LE21.32 per share. Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) fell by 1.13 per cent to LE272.69 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, slipped by 0.95 per cent LE4.16 per share. Meanwhile, the euro turned lower, while global stocks pared gains and peripheral bonds came under fresh pressure as the impact of the Greek government surviving a confidence vote waned and some investors switched focus to the US Federal Reserve, according to Reuters. World stocks were roughly flat at 334.09, while European shares were in the red. "There was an initial knee-jerk reaction but a lot of people now perceive the confidence vote overnight as nothing more than a stop-gap measure," said Adam Myers, FX strategist at Credit Agricole. While the controversial private sector participation in the Greek bailout process seems to have taken a backseat for now, investors will be wary of any uncertainty stemming from a lack of consensus, both at the national and the eurozone level. The dollar edged lower against the yen to 80.20 yen while the dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of major currencies, was well below its recent peak of 76.015. Brent crude edged higher after five sessions of losses, with crude for August up at $111.44. Gold was steady at $1,544.46 per ounce, little changed from Tuesday's close. Bullion, one of the chief beneficiaries of worries about the security of currencies and other assets, set a record high of $1,575.79 per ounce in early May.
