For the second day in a row, Egypt's main index EGX 30 slipped on Monday, traders said. Retail selling pulled most shares down, they added. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 fell by 0.54 per cent, ending the day's trading at 6,518.51 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, shed 2.1 per cent to 667.47 points. Volume hit LE824.9 million (around $150 million), according to the Egyptian Exchange. Egyptians made net sell-offs worth LE69 million, while Arab and non-Arab investors made net purchases of LE26.6 million and LE42.5 million respectively. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, slipped by 0.2 per cent, closing at LE249.5 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, plunged by 3.33 per cent to LE5.51 per share. Meanwhile, world stocks slipped and the euro wobbled on renewed investor worries over Greece's debt crisis and after a surprise interest rate hike by India last week stoked concern about riskier assets. Pharmaceutical stocks were particularly in focus after the US House of Representatives gave final approval to a sweeping healthcare overhaul. The Morgan Stanley Capital Internatoional's (MSCI) all-country world stocks index was down around a third of a per cent, with the emerging markets sub-index down 0.8 per cent. The falls took this year's gains for emerging market stocks -- widely considered the best bet for returns by many investors -- to barely even. There was continued confusion about what kind of support Greece might need or get to help it sort out its debt crisis. Germany urged Athens to solve its problems alone while Italy backed European Union support. At the same time, equity markets in Europe were being dragged lower by the pharmaceutical sector, now facing a new healthcare climate in the United States. "You might find the pharmas are somewhat friendless out there at the moment," said Stephen Pope, the chief global equity strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald in London. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was down 0.5 per cent. India's stock market was down 0.7 per cent after the central bank's surprise 25-basis point rate hike on Friday, which came after local markets had closed. Japan's markets were closed on Monday for a holiday. The euro slumped to a three-week low against the dollar, pressured by uncertainty over whether Greece would be able to secure sufficient aid this week to deal with its deficit problems. "It seems there's agreement there will be some sort of assistance to Greece, but it's not clear what form that will take," said Carl Hammer, a currency strategist at SEB in Stockholm, adding that this would keep the euro under selling pressure. India's rate rise also helped prod the dollar to a two-week high against a currency basket by curbing risk appetite. Yields on benchmark euro zone government debt were lower as equities slipped. But the premium investors demand to hold Greek government debt rather than euro zone benchmark Bunds rose to 338 basis points, its widest since March 1.
