CAIRO: Housing stocks climbed on a mixed Egyptian bourse on Sunday, building on a rally in the sector since mid-March, traders said. Housing stocks have been boosted by expectations of expansion in the sector. Medinet Nasr Housing and Development climbed 11 percent, United Housing gained 5.7 percent and Shams Housing and Development added 6.3 percent. But the benchmark Hermes index slipped 0.7 percent to 60,005.96 points and the Case 30 index fell 0.7 percent to 7,064.57 points. The CIBC index edged up 0.5 percent to 243.93 points. Shares in EFG-Hermes climbed LE 1.80, or 2.5 percent, to LE 74.95, helped by ongoing expectations that it will secure an investment banking license to operate in Saudi Arabia, said Yasser Hassanein of Dynamic Securities. But shares in Ezz Steel Rebars, which announced that its net profit in 2005 had more than doubled, slipped 1 percent to LE 84.80. A lot of people had factored in that the results were good, Hassanein said. Reuters
Housing sector climbs on mixed Egypt bourse
