For the fourth day in a row, Egypt's main index slipped on Sunday, traders said. The country's benchmark index EGX 30 fell slightly by 0.26 per cent, ending the day's trading at 6,290.9 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, gained 0.1 per cent to 549.51 points. Volume hit LE1.7 billion ($300 million), according to the Egyptian Exchange. Orascom Telecom (OT), the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, was flat at LE5.3 per share. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, added 0.27 per cent, closing at LE236.52 per share. Shares in developer Talaat Moustafa fell by 1.31 per cent, to LE7.55. In a related event, Advanced Pharmaceutical Packaging is raising LE21 million ($3.8 million) in an initial public offering of 30 per cent of its shares to boost capacity in its glass ampoule and vial business. Egypt's bourse had seen no IPOs since the global financial crisis hit world markets in mid-2008, until Juhayna Food Industries broke the drought this month. Real estate firm Amer Group could also launch an IPO this year, its adviser said. On Friday, US Nasdaq and S&P 500 rose modestly on relief that the financial regulation bill wouldn't crimp Wall Street profits as badly as feared and as tech company Oracle's strong results revived hopes about business spending, according to Reuters. Despite the day's gains, the main stock indexes fell for the week after two straight weeks of gains and recorded their weakest performance in five weeks. Banks climbed after lawmakers agreed on rules that did not make dramatic changes to derivatives and proprietary trading, two highly profitable businesses in lawmakers' crosshairs. The bill must still be approved by both chambers of Congress before it can be signed into law. JPMorgan Chase & Co rose 3.7 per cent at $39.44 while Bank of America Corp gained 2.7 per cent to$15.42. The S&P financial sector, which is down 8.4 per cent over the past quarter, rose 2.8 per cent. "Regulation is less onerous than people's fears, so you're seeing a bit of a relief rally in the financials today, which obviously is helping," said Michael James, senior trader at Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 8.99 points, or 0.09 percent, at 10,143.81. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 3.07 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 1,076.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6.06 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 2,223.48. The Dow fell 2.9 per cent for the week, the S&P 500 was off 3.6 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.7 per cent. The Dow edged lower on Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which fell 2.5 per cent to $48.80. The week's high and low points covered a wider span than last week's. Closing below the previous week's low in an "outside week" is seen as a technical bearish signal.
