Markets Hit highs After Mubarak Steps Down

Bob Pisani is off; this post was written by CNBC producer Robert Hum.

Stocks hit session highs and the dollar fell off its highs after Egypt’s Vice-President announced that President Mubarak “waives right to Presidency” and is stepping down. Markets in the U.S. and Europe broadly turned positive, after being mixed to negative for most of the day.

The Market Vectors Egypt ETF jumped over 5 percent on the news on heavy volume. Over 900,000 shares have already changed hands today, significantly more than its 10-day average of 614,000 shares.

Remember that Egypt’s markets have been closed since January 27, and as a result, Van Eck, the marketer of the ETF, has since suspended creations of new orders. That’s has caused the ETF to function a little like a closed-end fund, with limited supply of shares amid heightened demand.

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