MIDEAST STOCKS-IMF news may boost Egypt, Gulf quiet

Egypt's stock market looks set to rise on Wednesday on news that Cairo is near agreeing an International Monetary Fund lending programme, while soft oil prices - Brent crude is below $45 a barrel - and mixed Saudi corporate earnings may keep the Gulf quiet. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail ordered the central bank governor and minister of finance to complete negotiations for the programme with an IMF team that will visit Egypt in the next few days. An IMF deal, and the attached economic policy condi