CAIRO: Egypt's benchmark share index, EGX30, rose on Monday, pulled up by heavyweight banks Commercial International Bank (CIB) and EFG-Hermes. Traders said CIB, which closed up 1.7 percent, has caught the eyes of several foreign investors at the end of a year in which it has gained more than any other stock on the 30-company index, soaring 68 percent. CIB touched LE 47.58 per share during the session, a record. It was the most traded stock on the index, with LE 107.2 million ($18.44 million) of its shares changing hands. "I think investors see a lot of prospects in certain stocks especially that we are nearing year-end," said a trader in Pharos Securities. Investment bank EFG-Hermes rose 2.1 percent. Mobile operator Orascom Telecom (OT) ORTE.CA had the second-highest turnover on the exchange at LE 69.5 million. The firm's shares fell 1.2 percent. Russian operator Vimpelcom's $6.6 billion bid for a majority stake in OT and other assets received a setback on Monday when Norwegian shareholder Telenor said it would not back the deal. "Such news wasn't expected by investors, and of course it affected the stock a bit, but things are not final," said Mohamed Shalaby of Cairo Capital Securities. The EGX30 rose 0.4 percent to close at 6,912 points, with the number of gainers and decliners roughly equal.
