Non-Arab selling pulled Egyptian indexes down on Sunday, traders said. The country's main index EGX 30 shed more than 86 points, they added. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 fell by 1.29 per cent, ending the day's trading at 6,632.54 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, slided by 2.59 per cent to 739.94 points. Volume hit LE969 million ($177 million), according to the Egyptian Exchange. In a related event, the average yield on Egyptian 182-day treasury bills slipped to 9.952 per cent at an auction yesterday from 9.972 per cent an auction last week. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) accepted bids worth LE2 billion, the same amount it was seeking, according to Reuters. It accepted bids at rates between 9.789 and 10.039 per cent compared to a range of 9.789 to 10.101 per cent at the previous auction. The bills are for issue on March 2 and mature on August 31, 2010. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley has "overweight" recommendations on China, Russia, Brazil, India, Poland, Malaysia and Egypt, meaning investors should hold more of these stocks than are represented in the broader benchmark index. The US-based bank rated Mexico, Turkey, Hungary, the Philippines and Chile as "underweight". The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) gauge of 22 developing countries will probably rise 18 per cent to 1,100 in 12 months, ING Groep NV wrote in an equity strategy report. Valuations in emerging markets "remain expensive," according to Nomura International Plc. "There could be further to go in terms of a reversal in sentiment toward emerging markets," London-based Nomura analysts Shanthi Nair and Rishav Dev said in a note."Valuations for emerging markets have still not moved into attractive territory," the note added. Mexico's stocks were downgraded on the outlook for companies' earnings, while South African equities were raised because of improving valuations and a "cheaper" currency. Mexico was lowered to "underweight" from "equal-weight" and South Africa's stocks were upgraded to "equal-weight" from "underweight," Jonathan Garner and Michael Wang, emerging- market equity strategists wrote in a report to investors.
