CAIRO - Egyptian indexes rebounded on Thursday boosted by foreign buying, traders said. Arabs and non-Arabs made net purchses worth LE6.1 million ($1 million) and LE17.7 million respectively. Locals made net sell-offs worth LE23.8 million, according to Bourse data. The country's benchmark index EGX 30 gained 1.69 per cent to 5,373 points. The broader indexes EGX 70 and EGX 100 were also in the black, rising by 0.32 and 0.55 per cent to 629.63 and 972.87 points respectively. Volume exceeded LE777 million, according to Bourse data. Egypt's heavyweight Commercial International Bank (CIB) jumped by 5.01 per cent to LE29.76 per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's biggest investment bank by market value, gained 0.95 per cent to LE20.1 per share. Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) rose by 1.21 per cent to LE269.64 per share. Talaat Moustafa, the country's biggest listed builder, leapt by 3.15 per cent to LE4.91 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, added 0.49 per cent LE4.08 per share. Telecom Egypt, the country's landline monopoly, rose by 1.7 per cent to LE14.93 per share. Globally, the euro rose to a three-week high against the dollar, swept higher by month-end demand which helped it extend a rally after Greece moved a step closer to securing international aid, according to Reuters. The single currency was also buoyed after comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet reinforced speculation that the ECB will raise interest rates next week, helping it to a 15-month high versus sterling. Markets cheered the Greek parliament's passage of tough austerity measures on Wednesday, enabling the debt-stricken country to secure more emergency funding from the EU and the International Monetary Fund and staving off the threat of a debt default for now. The euro hit a high of $1.4522 versus the dollar on trading platform EBS and analysts said further gains could propel it toward $1.5000. However, many remained wary about whether Greece will be able to implement such harsh measures and expected the euro's rise to be limited. Bolstering the euro was the view that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 1.5 percent next week, which would increase the single currency's rate advantage over the dollar.
