Driven by retail buying, Egyptian indexes rose on Tuesday, traders said. Egyptian investors made net purchases of LE70.9 million ($12.9 million), they added. The North African country's benchmark index EGX 30 gained 0.16 per cent to 7,603.04 points. The EGX 70 index, which measures 70 of the country's small and mid caps, added 0.23 per cent to 737.84 points. Orascom Construction Industries, Egypt's largest builder by market value, fell by 0.22 per cent, closing at LE272.22 per share. Volume hit LE1 billion, according to the Egyptian Exchange. Egyptian mobile phone company Mobinil made first-quarter net profit of LE357 million ($64 million), down two per cent from a restated figure from a year earlier and far below analysts' forecasts, Reuters reported. The firm said on Monday it added 767,000 subscribers in the quarter for a total of LE26.12 million by end-March, and that average revenue per user (ARPU) had fallen 18 per cent on a year earlier to LE32 per month. "Their subscriber numbers were pretty much in line but their ARPUs were again hit quite badly," said Mike Millar from Naeem Holding. 'The margins have slipped quite significantly.” Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was 1.02 billion pounds. The firm's EBITDA margin shrank to 40.1 per cent, from 46.4 per cent a year ago. Mobinil is engaged in a fierce pricing war with the North African country's two other operators, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Egypt. Meanwhile, global stocks extended their falls on Tuesday and bond spreads for the eurozone periphery hit new highs as investors fretted that the Greek debt crisis could spread, driving down the euro. As Germany continued to hold out for strict conditions on the aid package offered to Greece by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, investors looked for the next weak link in the eurozone, targeting Portugal, Ireland and Spain. "The market is wondering whether political ramifications could delay the money or raise a question mark over whether Greece will be able to finance itself before the deadline," said Daragh Maher, senior currency strategist at Credit Agricole. Fears of a Greek default and contagion within the eurozone prompted a sell-off in Greek and Portuguese bonds. Investor worry over Greece hit equities, with world stocks as measured by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) All-Country World index down 0.48 per cent, while its more volatile emerging markets component, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, was down 0.66 per cent. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 of top European shares extended its early morning fall, down 1.44 percent.
