CAIRO: Stock indexes rose slightly on Wednesday as the housing sector surged, led by gains in Sixth of October Development and Investment (SODIC), which plans a capital increase, traders said. But textile shares slumped after Arabia Cotton Ginning announced 12-month results that came in lower than market expectations, they said. Shares in SODIC, which has agreed to increase its capital by selling 10 million shares to outside investors, gained 5 percent to end at LE 120.02 ($20.91) per share. The new capital will finance an expansion of company operations including the purchase of 230 acres (93 hectares) of land in Sixth of October City for LE 600 million. I think it is backed by Gulf Arab buying in the real estate sector, said Mohamed Kotb of Gezira Asset Management, explaining the rise in the sector. Other housing stocks also rose, buoyed by SODIC s gains. Shares in Medinet Nasr Housing rose 6.8 percent to end at LE 89, while Heliopolis Housing gained 5 percent to close at LE 99.13. On the down side, shares in Arabia Cotton Ginning dropped 2.7 percent to end at LE 13.06. Alexandria Spinning and Weaving also dipped 2.7 percent to end at LE 66.10 while Arab Polavara dipped 3.7 percent to LE 7.86. Arabia Cotton Ginning reported a 70 percent rise in net profit on Wednesday to LE 48.9 million for the 12 months to end-June, but traders said the results were below market expectations. The widely watched Case 30 ended the session 1.3 percent higher at 6,150.86 points. The benchmark Hermes index gained 0.7 percent to 53,751.73 points, while the broader CIBC index rose 0.5 percent to end at 241.39 points. Reuters
Stocks slightly higher, housing sector up
