For the second day in a row, Egyptian indexes took a dive on Monday on retail selling, traders said. EFG-Hermes, Egypt's largest investment bank by market value, dipped by 2.28 per cent to LE31.31 ($5.6), leading the country's big caps down, they added. Egyptian retailers made net sell-offs worth LE51 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Arab and non-Arabs made net purchases of LE32.3 million and LE18.6 million respectively. The North African country's main index EGX 30 fell by 0.78 per cent, or 52.33 points, ending the day's trading at 6,641.88 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, plunged by 2.67 per cent to 617.82 points. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, was nearly flat at LE242.59 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, fell by 0.34 per cent to LE5.8 per share. Meanwhile, Swiss-based developer Orascom Development's first-quarter net profit fell 22 per cent after its rate of new home completions slowed, according to Reuters. Orascom, whose main presence is in Egypt, said it still aimed to make a profit of 120 million Swiss francs in 2010, up from 106 million francs in 2009, referring to profit after non-controlling interest. Egyptian developer Nasr City Housing posted a net profit of LE60.9 million ($10.87 million) for the nine months to end-March, down 21.3 per cent from a year earlier. The formerly State-run firm, now about 30 per cent owned by Beltone Financial's private equity arm, posted a net profit of LE77.4 million in the same period a year earlier. Globally, Shanghai stocks were down 5.07 per cent, reflecting the negative mood across Asia, as investors worried that European austerity measures would stifle a recovery, affecting Asian exports to the West. "It is probably a good excuse for a sell off," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at wealth manager Brewin Dolphin. "We have a recovery but it is a feeble one. If you load on to that recovery a severe dose of fiscal austerity, the prospects then for a sustainable recovery (are strained)." The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares opened down 0.43 per cent, while core eurozone government bond futures opened nearly half a point higher as investors sought the safety of German paper. World stocks as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) All-Country index were down 1.07 per cent whilst the more volatile emerging markets index was down 2.46 per cent. Earlier in Japan, the Nikkei fell 2.17 per cent to a 10-week closing low, mirroring falls in the rest of the region as investors ignored encouraging economic data from the United States, Japan and Singapore.
