CAIRO: Foreign investors snapped up shares of Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), helping Egypt’s benchmark stock index rise 0.72 percent on Monday, traders said.
Shares in OCI, Egypt’s largest listed builder, last traded 5.94 percent higher at LE106 ($19.06), ending a two week losing streak. The shares had shed 28.7 percent in the year to Sunday’s close.
“This is a normal rebound, said Mohamed Ashmawy, head of international sales at CIBC Brokerage in Cairo.
Nihal Zaki, a technical analyst at Prime Securities, said helping fuel the rise was that OCI shares broke a key resistance level between LE100 and LE103.
Orascom Telecom (OT), the largest Arab mobile phone operator by subscribers, rose 1.52 percent to LE 21.97 a share.
“Foreign investors are buying. There is a foreign appetite for large caps, said Mohamed Kotb, director of asset management at Naeem Financial Investment.
Mobinil, Egypt’s largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, gained 5.56 percent to LE 133.98 on market forecasts of strong fourth-quarter results, traders said.
“There is optimism in the market about Mobinil’s performance in 2009, Kotb added.
EFG-Hermes, Egypt’s largest investment bank, said last week it expects Mobinil’s fourth-quarter net profit to rise nearly 20 percent to LE 526 million. The results are expected on Feb. 1.
Overall, the benchmark CASE 30 index gained 0.72 percent to 3,669.73 points. The Hermes index rose 0.44 percent to 357.18 points. The broader CIBC index shed 0.41 percent to 264 points.
