Driven by Orascom Telecom and EFG-Hermes, Egypt's main index EGX 30 gained 163 points to a 19-month high on Wednesday, traders said. EFG-Hermes, the country's largest investment bank by market value, rose by 2.58 per cent to LE35.41 ($6.4) per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, jumped by 4.13 per cent to LE7.32 per share, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Non-Arabs made net purchases of LE80 million, while Egyptians and Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE70 million and LE10.7 million respectively. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 jumped by 2.2 per cent, ending the day's trading at 7,591.37 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, leapt by 2.14 per cent to 768.71points. Meanwhile, global equities rose, pushed higher by expectation-beating results from No.2 US bank JPMorgan and chipmaker Intel, a bullish mood that also rolled into currencies, weakening the dollar, Reuters reported. Investors remained cautious about Greece, however, pushing its bond yield spreads against German debt wider despite the weekend's European Union rescue plan. JPMorgan Chase said it had net first quarter income of 74 cents a share versus a consensus forecast of 64 cents per share. It compared with 40 cents a year earlier. "Blow-out numbers from JPMorgan, driven by their investment banking arm. But that doesn't necessarily mean good news to come from the whole of the sector, aside from Goldman (Sachs)," said David Morrison, market strategist at GTF Global. "But it looks like nothing is going to stop this market from going higher at the moment, anyway, even any possible Greek debt default," he added. Intel Corp's sales and margin forecasts late on Tuesday also trounced Wall Street expectations, reinforcing hopes for an acceleration in the tech sector's recovery. In a similar vein, Dutch chip equipment maker ASML said first-quarter orders beat even the most optimistic expectations. World stocks as measured by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) were up half a per cent with its emerging market counterpart climbing more than one per cent. The FTSEurofirst 300 gained 0.6 per cent and Japan's Nikke closed up 0.39 per cent.
