Arab buying pushed Egypt's main index EGX 30 0.62 per cent up on Tuesday, traders said. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 hovered above 7,000 points, ending the day's trading at 7,062.66 points, they added. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, shed 1.62 per cent to 787.34 points. Volume hit LE845.2 million ($154 million), according to the Egyptian Exchange. Arabs made net purchases of LE11.6 million. Meanwhile, European shares gained after UK bank Barclays beat profit forecasts, and the euro rose against the dollar as European finance ministers put more pressure on Greece to resolve its fiscal problems, Reuters reported. World stocks measured in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) All-Country World Index put on 0.5 per cent, backed by robust gains in Europe. Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 rose 0.7 per cent, with banks the leading risers as Barclays said it had started the year well after beating expectations with 2009 profits of over $18 billion. The bank's shares soared 6.5 per cent. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei average put on 0.2 per cent. The euro was up 0.5 per cent at $1.3666 as euro zone states urged Athens to make a greater effort to deal with its fiscal problems, prompting short-term players to trim their short positions. But many investors remained cautious about buying the single currency on uncertainty that debt problems in Greece will be resolved quickly. "The market had sold the euro up to their chins before the meeting (of finance ministers), and some people are moving to trim those positions," a senior trader for a Japanese bank said. "But the euro lacks its own buying factors. So this euro gain looks very fragile." Eurozone states on Monday urged Greece to take further steps to control its budget deficit by mid-March if needed, but did not elaborate on last week's pledge to defend the country if market pressures spin out of control.
