CAIRO: Egypt's main index closed 1.3 percent higher, notching up its biggest single session gain in more than a month as investors looked beyond political uncertainty and hunted for bargains among heavily discounted shares. The benchmark rose for the sixth day in a row, led by real estate firms which extend a rally that began on Sunday. Talaat Mostafa Group, the index's biggest gainer, ended 5.6 percent higher and Palm Hills Developments gained 5.4. Egyptian Resorts also added 3.5 percent. "Most of the cash entering the market is going into the most pressured stocks," said Amr Shamel of Pharos Securities, adding that trading volumes were up. The index as a whole has fallen by more than a quarter this year after a popular uprising unseated Egypt's president and threw the economy into turmoil. Most investors have stayed on the sidelines, leading to low trading volume and exaggerated share price movements, but some traders say there is money to be made in the short term. "Prices are too low and might be attractive to short-term speculators," said one Cairo trader. Hashem Ghoneim, vice chairman of Pyramids Capital, said the market's limited reaction to recent clashes between Muslims and Christians and violent protests outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo is surprising. "It could be a sign that we have reached the bottom," said Ghoneim. "Prices have dropped substantially, specifically real estate companies." Mohamed Radwan, head of equities at Pharos Securities, said: "I think we're going to see higher prices throughout the whole week". Orascom Construction Industries gained 4.9 percent after saying one of its joint ventures bought an ammonia-methanol plant in the United States with capacity of 1 million tons. Orascom Telecom said it replaced its chief executive. Its shares climbed 4.7 percent, paring earlier losses.
