CAIRO - Egyptian stocks fell on Tuesday on local and Arab selling amid low volumes, traders said. Locals and Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE9.6 million ($1.6 million) and LE9.2 million. Non-Arabs made net purchases worth LE18.8 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. The country's benchmark index EGX 30 slipped by 0.36 per cent to 5,085.99 points. The broader indexes EGX 70 and EGX 100 were also in the red, falling by 0.28 and 0.22 per cent to 637.53 and 955.92 points respectively. Volume totalled LE398 million, according to Bourse data. Egypt's heavyweight Commercial International Bank (CIB) gained 0.15 per cent to LE27.21 per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's biggest investment bank by market value, shed 0.92 per cent to LE19.41 per share. Orascom Construction Industries rose slightly by 0.08 LE264.87 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, shed 0.26 per cent LE3.9 per share. Mobinil fell by 1.21 per cent to LE106 per share. Globally, the dollar fell across the board after US President Barack Obama gave no sign of a swift breakthrough in deadlocked talks to raise the US debt ceiling, according to Reuters. Unless lawmakers reach a deal to raise the $14.3 trillion ceiling by August 2, the United States faces a technical default on some of its $9.6 trillion government bonds outstanding. In a televised address, Obama warned that this would be a "reckless and irresponsible outcome," but he gave no indication that a compromise was imminent. The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) world equity index rose 0.5 per cent while European stocks fell 0.2 per cent after weaker-than-expected results from BP and UBS. Emerging stocks rose 0.8 per cent. The dollar fell 0.6 per cent against a basket of major currencies. Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields rose half a basis point to 3.01 per cent. A default could potentially spark a shift of billions of capital currently parked in Treasuries into other triple-A rated securities, triggering a sharp decline in an already weak dollar. The US currency hit a record low against the Swiss franc and fell to a four-month low near 77.90 yen, approaching a record low of 76.25.
