For the second day in a row, Egypt's main index rose on Thursday as foreign investors were driven by a bullish sentiment, traders said. The North African country's main index EGX 30 gained 61.5 points, or 1.03 per cent, ending the week's trading at 6,029.03 points. The EGX 70, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, added 0.69 per cent to 575.97 points. Arab and non-Arab investors made net purchases worth LE4.4 million ($773,000) and LE111.7 million respectively. Egyptians made net sell-offs worth LE116 million. Volume hit LE1.1 billion, accordig to the Egyptian Exchange. Commercial International Bank (CIB) jumped by 2.62 per cent to 36.03 per share. Orascom Construction Industries gained 0.28 per cent to LE228.03 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, rose by 1.46 per cent to LE4.86 per share. EFG-Hermes, Egypt's largest investment bank by market value, added 1.54 per cent, closing at LE27.65 per share. Meanwhile, the dollar slid close to a seven-month low against the yen after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the US.economic outlook was "unusually uncertain," sparking a sell-off in riskier assets, according to Reuters. Bernanke said the Fed stood ready to ease monetary policy further if the economy worsened, sending two-year US Treasury yields to a record low, which reduced the allure of the dollar versus the yen. The euro, which fell sharply after the comments sparked outflows from stocks and other risk assets, hit a two-week low against the yen. It edged up versus the dollar but stayed toward the bottom of its recent range before Europe's bank stress test results on Friday. "The yen is gaining after Bernanke on risk aversion and as an interest rate play in reaction to US yields falling further and rate differentials moving in favor of the yen," said Niels Christensen, currency strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen. Traders said the dollar could fall fast if it breaks below a seven-month trough of 86.27 yen hit last week, with stop-loss dollar offers believed to be waiting below that level. However, Yuki Sakasai, a forex strategist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo, said the dollar/yen rate was unlikely to fall much below the seven-month low for now. The rise in the yen, which gained steeply on the crosses on Wednesday, has been hampered by caution that Japanese policy makers may try to talk it down as it nears a 14-year high around 85 yen per dollar hit last November. European shares rose, reversing earlier falls as banks gained. Stronger earnings news also helped boost sentiment. "The market is struggling between a message from the Fed that is slightly discomforting and earnings that are coming which have been quite decent in the US and Europe," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin. "If we get a few more decent earnings then markets are going to rebound. Although there has been lots of doubts other the bank stress tests, I think the market is looking forward to it and will be happier when it is out." The STOXX Europe 600 Banks index was up 1.5 per cent following earlier falls. Europe is testing how 91 banks would cope with another economic slump and losses on government debt in the wake of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.
