Motivated by a profit-taking sentiment, Egyptian indexes were in the red on Thursday on Egyptian and Arab selling, traders said. Egyptians and Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE65.5 million ($12 million) and LE29.9 million respectively, they added. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 shed 0.23 per cent, ending the week's trading at 7,573.61 points. The EGX 30 gained 325 points over the week, marking a 4.5 per cent rise against a week earlier. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, dipped by 0.72 per cent to 763.16 points. Volume hit LE1.7 billion, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, slipped by 0.34 per cent, closing at LE283.09 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, jumped by 2.46 per cent to LE7.5 per share. Meanwhile, world stocks slipped off year highs as Wall Street looked set for a poor start despite strong growth in China and upbeat corporate earnings, according to Reuters. Greece's debt crisis continued to simmer, knocking the euro down close to one per cent against the dollar and yen. Morgan Stanley Capital International's (MSCI) all-country world stock index was down slightly, but still at September 2008 levels. The index is up around six per cent this year. China's economic growth quickened in the first quarter to 11.9 percent year-on-year, the fastest pace since 2007, benefiting from a low base of comparison last year and the momentum imparted by massive government stimulus. At the same time, investors are being buoyed by robust earnings announcements on Wall Street. JPMorgan reported quarterly profit that beat forecasts, as investment banking earnings gained and loan losses slowed. Tech bellwether Intel Corp also posted better-than-expected results. But early ardor cooled slightly. "There's been a pause for breath, with some stocks having been overbought in the rally," said Colin McLean, the managing director at fund manager SVM, in Edinburgh. "There's still some concern about Greece, and southern Europe," he said. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was up 0.2 per cent for a year to date gain of nearly six per cent. Japan's Nikkei earlier closed up 0.6 per cent. Japan has generally been outperforming this year. The Nikkei is up close to seven per cent and the broader TOPIX has gained more than 10 per cent since the end of 2009. The euro fell against the dollar and the yen as costs rose to insure against a Greek debt default. "Greek/German spreads are pushing around 400 basis points," said Jeremy Stretch, strategist at Rabobank in London. "Investors may be shy of taking on risk, and so we're seeing selling in euro/dollar." Five-year Greek credit default swap prices exceeded a record closing high of 444 basis points hit a week ago, before euro zone members agreed a standby aid package to help Athens service its mounting debt.
