For the second day in a row, Egypt's main index slipped on Orascom Telecom fall on Wednesday, traders said. The country's benchmark index EGX 30 shed 36 points, or 0.57 per cent, ending the day's trading at 6,318.63 points. But the EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, gained 0.22 per cent to 547.23 points. Volume hit LE768.7 million ($135.6 million), according to the Egyptian Exchange. Orascom Telecom (OT), the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, shed 1.12 per cent to LE5.29 per share. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, slipped by 0.76 per cent, closing at LE236.28 per share. Shares in developer Talaat Moustafa shed 0.26 per cent, to LE7.56. In a related event, Alexandria Cement said on Tuesday it had almost covered an LE2.45 billion rights issue and expects to sell the remaining shares once the regulator gives the go-ahead, according to Reuters. The rights issue is designed to pave the way for the company's main shareholder, Greek cement maker Titan, to sell a 16 per cent stake to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for 80 million euros ($107.3 million). Titan has been struggling to cope with a shrinking business and to cut debt. Alexandria said in a statement released by the stock exchange that the one-month subscription, which closed on June 20, was 99.43 per cent subscribed. Globally, the euro held steady on Wednesday but remained vulnerable as a recent risk rally appeared to have run its course and on concerns about the eurozone banking system. European and Asian stocks fell as poor US home sales added to fears about the global economic recovery and optimism over China's new flexible yuan policy faded. The euro held steady against the dollar but sentiment was fragile as concerns over Europe's banking system undermined flows into risky assets, giving support for safe-haven government bonds. "With advanced economies tightening their fiscal policies, the risks of economic slowdown are rising," said Lee Hardman, currency economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. Financial stocks were among the top losers on concerns about the European banking sector after French bank Credit Agricole pushed back profit targets for its struggling Greek unit Emporiki and said it would take a 400 million euro ($536.7 million) write-down as Greece fights its debt load. The benchmark European index is up more than 62 per cent from its lifetime low of March 9, 2009, as major economies return to growth. But it is only up 0.5 per cent for 2010, having stumbled in April and May when worries about debt levels in Europe escalated. Japan's Nikkei share average closed down almost two per cent, sliding to a one-week low and back toward a key support level. World stocks as measured by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) were 0.5 per cent down.
