CAIRO: Housing stocks led by Medinet Nasr Housing and Development pushed Egyptian stocks to slight gains on Monday after new stakeholders in the firm were granted seats on its board, traders said. Medinet Nasr shuffled its board at a recent assembly meeting to give four seats to the Beltone Group, Beltone said in a market report on Sunday. Beltone acquired a 26.25 percent stake late last year in an $81 million deal. The housing and real estate sector is really going crazy. This is a continuation of strong demand in the sector yesterday, said Mohamed Radwan of Delta Securities, adding the gains were led by Medinet Nasr, which soared 15.8 percent to end at LE 139.90 ($24.53). Dealers said the sector was basking in positive sentiment after a recent change in regulations that may allow housing firms to build on a higher percentage of their land. Shares in Sixth of October Development and Investment (SODIC) gained 3.7 percent to LE 161.50, while Heliopolis Housing rose 5 percent to LE 138.96. Cairo Housing and Development jumped 19 percent to LE 13.61. Overall, the benchmark Hermes index edged 0.2 percent higher to 61,583.95 points and the CASE 30 index also rose 0.3 percent to 7,068.49 points. The broader CIBC-100 index gained 0.6 percent to 298.36 points. Traders said textile stocks were also higher as traders shifted positions away from blue chips like Orascom Construction Industries, which was down 0.5 percent. Among the leaders was El Nasr Clothes and Textiles, which was up 4.8 percent to LE 3.70 and was the day s most heavily traded stock by volume. Arabia Cotton Ginning was also up, gaining 2.1 percent to LE 10.40.
