Egypt's main index ended flat on Tuesday, reversing its early gains, traders said. The North African country's main index EGX 30 added nearly one point, to close at 6,312.85 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, added 1.21 per cent to 546.08 points. Volume hit LE996 million ($176 million), according to the Egyptian Exchange. Local investors made net purchases worth LE19.4 million, while Arabs and non-Arabs made net sell-offs totalling LE19.4 million. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, slipped by 0.92 per cent, closing at LE223.98 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, added 0.17 per cent to LE5.77 per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's largest investment bank by market value, rose by 0.76 per cent to LE29.29 per share. Meanwhile, global financial markets stuck to their recent script, following a day of volatility with modest equities gains and a small lift for the euro, Reuters reported. Comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the US economy should avoid a double dip recession and that he believed European leaders were committed to the euro's survival also lifted sentiment. Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) all-country world stock index was up 0.2 per cent and its emerging market counterpart index of top European shares was up 0.3 per cent. Japan's Nikkei average closed up 0.2 percent in choppy trade. Investors are currently balancing negative sentiment engendered by the likes of the Greek debt crisis and positive sentiment from relatively good economic outlooks. "There are concerns that the global economy might lose its footing going forward, but recent data, including upbeat corporate earnings, runs counter to that," said Mitsuo Shimizu, deputy general manager at Cosmo Securities in Japan. Sterling fell broadly after Fitch ratings agency said the fiscal challenges facing the UK were "formidable," putting the issue of the UK's substantial budget deficit back in the spotlight. Fitch said the UK needed to cut its deficit more quickly than the previous government set out in its April 2010 budget. It said Britain's public debt ratios had risen since 2008 more quickly than those of any other AAA-rated sovereign. Analysts and traders said the comments reignited concerns about how the safety of the UK's rating and the cost of insuring British government debt against default rose in response. However, Fitch acknowledged the new government, which took power last month, had acted quickly in calling for fiscal consolidation. Finance Minister George Osborne will present an emergency budget on June 22 as the government looks to cut a deficit running at around 11 percent of national output.
