For the second day in a row, Egyptian stocks fell on Thursday on non-Arab and retail selling, traders said. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, slipped by 0.9 per cent to LE5.5 ($0.98) per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's largest investment bank by market value, dipped 3.09 LE29.45 per share. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, shed 1.12 per cent, closing at LE239.33 per share. The North African country's main index EGX 30 fell by 1.04 per cent, ending the week's trading at 6,421.58 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, shed 2.82 per cent to 570.73 points. Volume hit LE685.8 million, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Egyptian developer Sixth of October Development and Investment Company (SODIC) posted a first quarter net loss of LE10.9 million ($1.94 million), well below analysts' expectations. Forecasts from three analysts polled by Reuters had ranged from a net profit of 15 million to LE75.8 million. SODIC has yet to release a detailed financial statement. Company officials told Reuters last month the firm's first quarter sales jumped to 750-800 million pounds, nearly as much as in all of 2009. "From looking at the bottom line, I think this largely goes back to the fact that the company's revenue recognition is based upon delivery and one of the main projects, Allegria, they're expected to begin delivering from the second half of this year," said Khalil Khalil, an analyst at Beltone Financial. Meanwhile, European stocks rebounded as investors sought bargains after the previous day's sharp sell-off but gains were limited by persistent eurozone fears, with the euro remaining under pressure. Equity markets plunged on Wednesday and Bunds rallied after Germany unnerved investors by unilaterally banning naked short selling of certain financial stocks, euro zone sovereign debt and related transactions in credit default swaps. The sell-off brought out buyers in Europe on Thursday, with banks among the top performers. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares opened up 0.7 per cent. "It's bargain hunting after yesterday's falls, but volatility remains high," said Will Hedden, a sales trader at IG Index. "The markets did not take to the German ban and I would not expect to see people piling in too much as the risks to the downside are still very strong." The June Bund future edged down 9 ticks but markets remained troubled by the general health of the eurozone and the lack of policy co-ordination amongst European members. "The key negative is that the lack of unity suggests that there are cracks within the EU with regard as to how to deal with this crisis," said Gary Jenkins of Evolution Securities in a note. World stocks as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) All-Country index were flat whilst the more volatile emerging markets index was down 0.75 per cent. The euro remained vulnerable, slipping back to $1.2414, with extreme short positioning exacerbating moves in nervous trade. The US dollar slipped slightly versus a currency basket to trade at 86.20 after surging to a 14-month high of 87.458 on Wednesday on safe-haven demand. Earlier in Japan, the Nikkei fell to a new three-month low, down 1.54 per cent, as exporters came under pressure again on fears that fiscal tightening in the euro zone would affect company earnings. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan fell 1.4 per cent to a new three month low, and is down nearly 10 per cent year to date.
