CAIRO - Egypt's main index shed 19 points amid low volumes on Sunday ahead of a three-day holiday marking Eid el-Adha (the Muslim feast of sacrifice), traders said. The Egyptian Exchange will be closed until Wednesday. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 fell by 0.28 per cent, ending the day's trading at 6,743.91 points. The EGX 70, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, added 0.15 per cent to 691.92 points. Commercial International Bank (CIB) fell slighly by 0.02 per cent to LE41.98 per share. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, plunged by 1.45 per cent LE4.09 per share, the lowest close since March. EFG-Hermes, the country's largest investment bank by market value, rose by 1.14 per cent to LE33.84 per share. In a related event, Egyptian appliance maker Olympic Group posted a 19 per cent drop in nine-month net profit to LE119.9 million, according to Reuters. Net profit in the first nine months of 2009 was LE148.3 million, the Egyptian Exchange said in a statement added. It did not provide further details. Export Development Bank of Egypt (EBDE) said net profit dropped 11.6 per cent year on year in the July-September quarter as the cost of its funds rose and the return on its lending remained relatively stable. Net profit was LE70.4 million in the first quarter of the financial year that began July 1, down from 79.6 million pounds in the same quarter of 2009. The cost of deposits rose 10.2 per cent to LE144.7 million, while the return on loans and similar revenue increased by only one per cent to LE212.5 million. On Friday, Wall Street ended a five-week winning steak as the threat of rising interest rates in China prompted investors to book profits and reassess bullish positions in equities. Investors worried tighter credit in China would curb demand for commodities, driving down energy and natural resource stocks. The two sectors were the biggest drag on the S&P. A string of global worries, including debt problems in Ireland, have prompted investors to reassess their positions or at least buy protective options so they can define their risk, said TD Ameritrade chief derivatives strategist Joe Kinahan in Chicago. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 90.52 points, or 0.80 per cent, to end at 11,192.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 14.33 points, or 1.18 per cent, to 1,199.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 37.31 points, or 1.46 per cent, to 2,518.21. The S&P 500 dipped below its 20-day moving average on Friday for the first time since September 1 but managed to close above it, in a sign that that level, currently just above 1,194, could provide strong technical support. Stocks have stalled in recent sessions after a two-month rally that climaxed last week, when the Dow and Nasdaq hit levels not seen since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. For the week, the Dow and the S&P 500 each lost 2.2 per cent and the Nasdaq fell 2.4 per cent. The two sectors that did the worst were financial stocks, down 4 percent for the week, and information technology stocks, off 3.2 per cent.
