Motivated by Arab buying, Egyptian stocks hit a one-month high on Thursday, traders said. Locals and Arabs made net purchases worth LE6.2 million and LE33.8 million ($5.6 million), while non-Arabs made net sell-offs worth LE40 million, according to Bourse data. Egypt's benchmark index EGX 30 rose by 1.18 per cent, ending the week at 5,249.11 points, its highest level since April 17. The broader indexes EGX 70 and EGX 100 gained 0.57 and 0.45 per cent to 632.23 and 967.62 points respectively. Volume totalled LE1.3 billion, according to Bourse data. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, jumped by 4.56 per cent LE4.36 per share. Ezz Steel leapt by 8.09 per cent to LE10.29 per share.Egypt's heavyweight Commercial International Bank (CIB) added 0.78 per cent to LE29.53 per share. EFG-Hermes, the country's biggest investment bank by market value, rose by 1.39 per cent to LE19.71 per share. Talaat Moustafa, the country's biggest listed builder, added 0.24 per cent to LE4.24 per share. Dairy and juice maker Juhayna Food Industries Co reported a 17 per cent drop in net profit for the first quarter to LE50.1 million compared to a year earlier. In a statement, carried by Reuters, the firm said net profit in the first three months of 2010 was LE60.2 million. Juhayna, established in 1983, listed after an initial public offering in June 2010. Its activities span farming, manufacturing, logistics and supply chains, and distribution. Shareholders of Egyptian mobile phone company Mobinil approved the company's plan to pay a dividend from accumulated profits of LE3.16 pounds per share, company officials said. Mobinil said last month its first-quarter net income tumbled 94 per cent to LE22.7 million ($3.81 million) against a backdrop of political turmoil that unseated Egypt's president. Meanwhile, global stocks rose from this week's four-week low and the euro erased earlier losses as a rebound in commodity prices encouraged investors to buy back risky assets. Commodity trader Glencore made a steady market debut with shares trading just above the widely expected launch price of 530 pence, contributing to a firmer tone in other commodity shares. "Markets had a bounce yesterday and momentum will continue ... with bargain hunting coming in," said Matt Brown, trader at Catalyst Markets. "Names that have sold off are starting to look interesting again." The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) world equity index and the Thomson Reuters global stock index. The FTSEurofirst 300 index rose over one per cent. "Long-term demand from China is really driving up commodity stocks and ultimately that is the reason why investors put money into the Glencore IPO," said Yusuf Heusen, a senior sales trader at IG Index. "Most traders putting their money in Glencore are in it for the long term and expect demand for commodities to remain."
