CAIRO - For the third day in a row, Egypt's main index rose on Monday on non-Arab buying, traders said. Non-Arabs made net purchses worth LE23.2 million (around $4 million). Locals and Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE21.1 million and LE2.1 million respectively, according to Bourse data. The country's benchmark index EGX 30 gained 0.17 per cent to 5,428.1 points. But the broader indexes EGX 70 and EGX 100 were also in the red, falling by 1.42 and 0.68 per cent to 630.21 and 976.2 points respectively. Volume exceeded LE369 million, according to Bourse data. Egypt's heavyweight Commercial International Bank (CIB) was slightly up by 0.03 per cent to LE29.96 per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's biggest investment bank by market value, gained 0.44 per cent to LE20.431 per share. Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) rose by 0.88 per cent to LE274.3 per share. Talaat Moustafa, the country's biggest listed builder, slipped by 0.6 per cent to LE5 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, added 0.49 per cent LE4.13 per share. Meanwhile, world stocks hit a four and half week high and oil rose as investors grew confident over the prospects for the global economy after Greece avoided an early default on its debt and data pointed to a moderate slowdown in China's growth, according to Reuters. Shanghai stocks hit a six-week high after data last week showed Chinese manufacturing growth moderated in June, raising expectations that the economy may not be headed for a sharp slowdown despite monetary policy tightening. The MSCI world equity index rose 0.4 per cent to hit its highest since June 1. The benchmark index rose more than five per cent last week, its biggest weekly gain since July 2010. European stocks ticked higher while emerging stocks rose nearly one per cent, helped by Shanghai stocks which hit a six-week peak. "I think there will eventually be a deal (on Greek debt), even though it may take some time," said Ian Scott, Global Head of Equity Strategy and Quantitative Research at Nomura. Scott has upgraded his stance on continental European shares to "overweight" from "neutral." Nomura estimates the overall equity risk premium over government bonds in Europe stands at a lofty 9.5 per cent. Inflows into global emerging market funds tracked by EPFR hit a 12-week high during the week, following three straight weeks of outflows. The dollar fell 0.1 percent against a basket of major currencies.
