Following global markets down, Egyptian stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as foreign investors were motivated by a bearish sentiment, traders said. Affected by stock declines in Europe, global depositary receipts (GDRs) of Egyptian big caps were in the red in London. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, plunged by 5.29 per cent to LE5.55 ($0.98) per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's largest investment bank by market value, to shed 3.71 LE30.39 per share. Shares in GB Auto, the largest bus manufacturer in the Middle East and North Africa, shed 8.3 per cent to close at LE38.14 per share. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, sank 4.25 per cent, closing at LE236.67 per share. Arab and non-Arab investors made net sell-offs worth LE17.7 million and LE38 million respectively. The North African country's main index EGX 30 slided by 4.03 per cent, ending the day's trading at 6,489.06 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, shed 5.26 per cent to 587.29 points. Volume hit LE991 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Meanwhile, Dubai's index DFM slumped to a 10-week low as traders exited in the wake of a worldwide equity sell-off, according to Reuters. Dubai's benchmark dropped 1.7 per cent to 1,686 points, its lowest close since March 11. Volumes slumped to a two-week low, so selling pressure is not extreme, but a lack of buyers is weighing on the market. "Markets are falling mostly on concerns about the second tier consequences of euro weakness and lower levels of demand for Middle East products," said Zahed Chowdhury of Al Mal Capital. This essentially means energy and petrochemical products, but a declining euro could also be negative for the regional property sector. "A good chunk of demand comes from the eurozone," added Chowdhury. Emaar Properties fell 2.6 per cent and Emirates NBD dipped 2.4 per cent. Abu Dhabi's benchmark ADI fell 0.5 per cent to 2,775 points. Dana Gas was the most active stock, accounting for more than half of all shares changing hands on the index, ended flat. "If the oil dispute between Kurdistan and Iraqi central government is resolved, which seems very likely this year, this will be a strong driver for the share price," said Hatem Alaa, senior analyst at HC securities. "Another catalyst would be the sale of 20-30 per cent of its Egyptian operation, which should provide liquidity for new investments plus put a value on their Egyptian asset. Oman's index MSI slumped to a 14-week closing low, Qatar QSI made its largest fall of
