Egyptian indexes ended mixed on Sunday, traders said. The country's main index EGX 30 shed 152 points on foreign selling, they added. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 plunged by 2.17 per cent, ending the day's trading at 6,827.49 points. Bu the EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, added 0.35 per cent to 761.89 points. Volume hit LE1 billion ($183 million), according to the Egyptian Exchange. Arab and non-Arab investors made net sell-offs exceeding LE49 million and LE20 million respectively. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, fell by 2.62 per cent, closing at LE260.83 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, dipped by 2.25 per cent to LE6.51 per share. Meanwhile, Dubai's index slid the most in almost two weeks, leading declines in the Gulf, as crude prices tumbled to the lowest level in seven weeks and investors awaited details of a new oilfield off the emirate's coast, Bloomberg reported. Shuaa Capital PSC, the biggest investment bank in the United Arab Emirates, slumped the most in two weeks after reporting a fourth-quarter loss of 154.3 million dirhams ($42 million). Aldar Properties PJSC, Abu Dhabi's biggest real-estate developer dropped the most since Jan. 26 after the company said Khadem Al Qubaisi resigned from its board. The DFM General Index lost two per cent to 1,630.81 and Abu Dhabi's ADX General Index lost 0.9 per cent. "There is still an atmosphere of risk adversity and so we see a magnified effect on any sell-off, especially in the UAE where liquidity is close to record lows," said Julian Bruce, director of equity sales at EFG-Hermes Holding SAE, the biggest publicly traded Arab investment bank. "There is no news on Dubai World, no disclosure regarding the size of the new oil discovery so there is no reason to buy," Bruce said. Dubai's government said on Friday a newly discovered offshore oilfield would enter production within a year and increase crude output by a "noticeable percentage" once commercial operations starts. Dubai World failed to present a restructuring offer to lenders in December and declined to say when a deal could be struck. Dubai, the second biggest member of the UAE, last year received a $20 billion lifeline from Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital and home to 90 per cent of the country's oil reserves. Shuaa declined 7.5 per cent, the most since Jan. 24, to 1.24 dirhams. Aldar dropped 3.9 per cent to 3.94 dirhams. Emaar Properties PJSC fell for the first time in five days, sliding 3.3 percent to 3.2 dirhams. On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 10.05 points, or 0.10 per cent, at 10,012.23. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended up 3.08 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 1,066.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 15.69 points, or 0.74 per cent, to close at 2,141.12.
