Non-Arab buying pushed Egyptian indexes up on Monday, ending a three-day losing streak, traders said. Non-Arabs made net purchases worth LE77 million (around $14 million), they added. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 gained 47.14 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 7,324.45 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, added 0.98 per cent to 709.51 points. Volume hit LE760 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, inched up by 0.56 per cent, closing at LE268.9 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, slipped by 0.44 per cent to LE6.77 per share. Meanwhile, the euro and European shares fell on concerns that a 110 billion euro bailout of Greece may still face political hurdles, and that austerity measures Athens agreed to enforce in exchange may prove too tough to sustain, Reuters reported. Greece's bond yields eased though they remained elevated, while shares in its banks added one per cent, also supported by a European Central Bank decision to suspend its minimum credit rating threshold for the country's debt. Concerns over further possible monetary policy tightening in China after Beijing raised its banks' reserve requirements added to short-term uncertainty. The euro failed to hold initial gains made after European countries agreed to the financial aid package at the weekend. "Most of the news was already priced in, and expectations were fulfilled. However, it didn't resolve any structural problems and I would suspect the euro would be 'sell on rallies'," said Geoffrey Yu, currency strategist at UBS. World stocks measured by Morgna Stanley Capital International (MSCI) All-Country World Index dropped 0.4 per cent after falling two per cent last week. The index is still up 2.2 per cent for the year. "The fate of Greece is in the hands of the people of Greece. They have to agree as well," said Koen De Leus, economist at KBC Securities, in Brussels. "We have had a great rally for more than a year and it's normal that there is going to be some pushback. Investors are looking for excuses to take profits." Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 lost 0.4 per cent, with Germany's DAX down 0.4 per cent and Spain's IBEX 35 falling 1.4 per cent. UK markets were closed for a holiday.
