Motivated by a global bullish sentiment, non-Arab buying lifted Egyptian stocks on Thursday, traders said. Non-Arabs made net purchases worth LE40.9 million ($7.2 million), they added. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, gained 2.66 per cent LE6.17 per share. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, slipped by 0.49 per cent, closing at LE234.39 per share. The North African country's main index EGX 30 rose by 1.36 per cent, ending the week's trading at 6,517.94 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, jumped by 2.39 per cent to 576.35 points. Volume hit LE1.2 billion, according to the Egyptian Exchange. The weighted average yield at a 14-day deposit auction was 8.298 per cent, compared with 8.288 per cent at last auction on May 19, Reuters reported. The CBE had asked for 12 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.12 billion) and received bids worth 16.58 billion pounds. It accepted the whole amount at rates between 8.29 and 8.315 percent compared with 8.275 and 8.310 per cent at the previous auction. Meanwhile, global stocks rose to their highest in two weeks while the dollar sagged after recent upbeat US data and ahead of the key non-farm payrolls report. Improving risk appetite also helped drive commodity prices higher and boosted demand for higher-yielding currencies such as the New Zealand dollar, which hit two-week highs against the dollar. Investors cheered after data on Wednesday showed pending home sales rose to a six-month high in April. Expectations are high that Friday's obs data will show the US economy generated more than 500,000 jobs last month. "Yesterday's news on US pending home sales and auto sales are signs confidence is improving in the economy," said David Buik, a partner at BGC Partners. "We are also expecting decent US non-farm payroll numbers tomorrow which is quite key." Global stocks as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) climbed 1.4 per cent to highs seen on May 19, and emerging markets stocks rallied more than two per cent. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares put on 2.1 per cent with financial shares such as Banco Santander and Barclays among the bright spots. Energy stocks ended a four-day losing run, with BP, which had been battered by the Gulf of Mexico disaster, rising 4.6 per cent. Earlier, Tokyo's Nikkei share average rose over three per cent, posting its biggest one-day rise in six months.
