Orascom Telecom pushed Egypt's main index EGX 30 0.68 per cent up on Wednesday, traders said. But the market was mixed as the EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, shed 2.07 per cent to 732.94 points, they added. Orascom Telecom, the largest Arab mobile operator by subscribers, rose by 2.51 per cent to LE7.76 ($1.4) per share, according to the Egyptian Exchange. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 added 51 points, ending the day's trading at 7,581.71 points. Volume hit LE1.5 billion. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, dipped by 0.17 per cent, closing at LE277.05 per share. Meanwhile, jitters about the state of Greece and other euro zone peripheral economies rattled bond markets again yesterday, while pressure on banking stocks dragged down equity markets, Reuters reported. Global stocks were flat but European stocks dipped after investor concern about banks outweighed support for food retailers. Banks are being hit by a combination of worries over the International Monetary Fund (IMF) threat of new taxes to cover the cost of any bailouts, the Goldman Sachs fraud accusation and the rising cost of euro zone debt. "The IMF campaign and the action taken by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and the FSA (Financial Services Authority) against Goldman is adding to a degree of uncertainty, so that anyone who is buying banks is doing so on a short-term basis," said Josh Raymond, a market strategist at City Index. Morgan Stanley Capital International's (MSCI) all-country world index was flat, with its more volatile emerging market component up 0.4 per cent. In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was down 0.4 per cent. Earlier, in Japan, the Nikkei closed up 1.74 per cent. The euro was down 0.5 per cent at $1.3366 and slipped against Britain's pound, the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen. "While the market appears to have priced in the Greek developments, the situation remains fluid," Brown Brothers Harriman said in a note. The low-yielding yen came under pressure as the strong US earnings fed a rebound in demand for riskier currencies, while the Canadian dollar, or loonie, climbed to its highest level in nearly two years. This followed an indication from the Bank of Canada that an interest rate rise may come as early as June. In fixed income markets the spread between Greek government bonds and euro zone benchmark Bunds rose to its highest level in 12 years. The cost of insuring Greek government debt also rose. "Liquidation in the periphery has been the trigger in the last hour. But liquidity is awful and bids are very low. So it doesn't take much to get things going," said a bond trader. (Additional reporting by Neal Armstrong, Simon Falush and William James; editing by Stephen Nisbet) Morgan Stanley posted better-than-expected first-quarter profit on Wednesday on strong fixed income trading results, sending its shares up. Net income for the New York-based bank was $1.4 billion, or 99 cents per share, versus a loss of $578 million, or 57 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, it earned 78 cents a share while analysts on average expected a profit of 57 cents per share, according to a survey of analysts Reuters. Net revenue was $9.1 billion.
