CAIRO: Egypt's stock market snapped this month's losing streaks, with the benchmark CASE30 index advancing 3.65 percent this week to end at 11,057 points, mainly lifted by investor confidence. The market started off the week trading on low volumes, with the CASE30 Index gaining 1.3 percent to close at 10,803.04 points on a turnover of LE 1.6 billion ($294 million), lifting by trading on small-caps. Shares in Torah Cement - Egypt s second biggest listed cement firm - surged after the Capital Market Authority approved its plan for a 2-to-1 share split, which would reduce the company's par value to LE 5 per share and increase total number of shares in the company to 47.68 million. The stock last traded 13.6 percent higher at LE 172.35, topping the best performers' list. Investment company Ahly Development and Investment was the second most-heavily traded stock by turnover, jumping 5.1 percent to LE 76.01 on market talk of a possible merger with Cairo Capital Group. Some big caps closed also in the green with Commercial International Bank (CIB) rising 3.8 percent to LE 81.80. Investment bank EFG-Hermes saw its share price gain 1.2 percent, on a strong turnover accounting for 6.8 percent of total market turnover. Blue-chip Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) climbed 1.5 percent to LE 384, while sister company Orascom Telecom (OT) gained 0.3 percent to LE 76. But Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (MobiNil) slipped 0.4 percent to LE 181.20, dragged down by news that the company would delay launch of its 3G services to September instead of July. The bourse extended gains on Monday for the second day in a row, with the CASE30 Index inching up 0.3 percent to close at 10,810.83 points on a moderate turnover of LE 1.6 billion ($301.5 million). Shares of Tourah Cement resumed their last session's green performance, jumping 7.8 percent to LE 185.86. Shares of Egyptian real estate developer Sixth of October Investment and Development moved around 3 percent higher to close at LE 184.65, as the company posted a first quarter net profit of LE 17.4 million versus LE 58.4 million in last year's quarter. Big cap stocks OCI and OT both recorded the session's highest turnover, lifting the bourse further. OCI gained 0.6 percent to LE 386.29, while OT fell a hair 0.1 percent to LE 75.75. Shares of CIB also closed in the green, rising 2.2 percent to LE 81.78. The CASE30 Index rose on Tuesday for the third straight session this week, gaining 1.6 percent to close at 10,998.99 points on a high turnover of LE 2.6 billion ($488.4 million), boosted by investor confidence. Shares of CIB - Egypt s largest by market value - surged 3.3 percent to LE 84.50, as its cheap share price attracted investors. The stock was the best performing stock in the banking sector. The bank posted a 67 percent surge in first-quarter net profit earlier this month. It is trading at 12.04 times estimated 2008 earnings, compared to 14.68 for the sector, according to Reuters data. Similarly, shares of EFG-Hermes - down about 20 percent this year to Monday s close - rose 2.48 percent to LE 54.06, as investors deemed it undervalued. The bank posted a 39 percent rise in first-quarter profit last week. Shares of construction conglomerate OCI inched 2.25 percent upward to LE 395, extending gains to about 4.5 percent on new plans to invest $800 million to build a phosphate-based fertilizer plant. Sister company OT also increased 0.3 percent to close at LE 75.97. Tourah Cement bucked the trend, shedding 3.5 percent to close at LE 179.45 on profit taking. For the fourth session in a row, the CASE30 index rose 0.2 percent on Wednesday, breaking the 11,000-point level to close at 11,016.93 points. The market traded on a high turnover of LE 2.3 billion ($422 million). OT traded on strong volumes on Wednesday, with its share price moving 2 percent higher to LE 77.47 after the company said it wanted to buy back some of its own shares. The regional mobile operator announced on Tuesday it had applied to buy back up to 12 million of its own shares for about $186 million, its second such offer this year. It said it would buy shares at LE 83 per ordinary share and about $77.50 per global depositary receipt. Shares in Raya Holding surged 9.83 percent to LE14.30, boosted by the company's positive first quarter financial results. The company posted a consolidated net income of LE 13.1 million, compared to LE 54.5 million in the same quarter last year. Revenues soared 14 percent to LE 589 million. Meanwhile, Talaat Mustafa Group (TMG) traded on the session's highest turnover worth LE 538 million, grasping nearly 24 percent of the market. The stock moved up on news of regional and international expansion plans. TMG closed 1.7 percent higher at LE9.70. The CASE 30 index gained 0.4 percent to 11,057.33 points on Thursday, mainly pushed up by TMG's future expansion plans. Shares of the firm - Egypt's largest real estate developer - jumped 10.3 percent to last trade at LE 10.7 grabbing the session's heaviest turnover. The company's chairman told reporters on Wednesday TMG was looking into building hotels in Ukraine and Montenegro to tap growing tourism and expects stable profit in the second quarter. Shares in OT extended its gains to a second session on its plans to buy back some of its own shares. The stock was 0.9 percent higher to LE 78.17. CIB also closed in the green, rising 1.2 percent to last trade at LE 85.25. Bucking the trend were shares of OCI which reversed early session gains to trade 0.4 percent lower at LE 393.51, hit by some profit taking. Egypt s largest listed construction company reported on Thursday a 224 percent rise in consolidated net income to $454.4 million in the first quarter of 2008, but said it will pay an extra tax of $100 million in 2009 after the government abolished the firm s free-zone status.
