CAIRO: Shares rose for the third straight session on Thursday, with Ezz Dekheila gaining nearly 10 percent on unconfirmed reports the company may buy treasury stocks, traders said. Traders said Ezz Dekheila had released an official statement saying it may buy the stock stocks at its next general meeting for shareholders, pushing the price of the stock up by 9.4 percent to LE 1,000. The stock exchange, which normally releases such statements, said it had suspended trade in the firm s shares until it responds to inquiries. Trade had not resumed by the market close. Ezz Dekheila is up because it is expected they may buy treasury stocks, and if that happens, the stock will boom up, said Yasser Hassanein of Dynamic Securities. Mohamed Kotb of Jazira Asset Management said a report on Tuesday from Commercial International Brokerage (CIBC) also had an impact on the stock s performance. The brokerage gave Ezz Dekheila, previously known as Alexandria Steel and Iron, a fair value of LE 1,481.80 a share, up 48 percent on its current market price. Orascom Hotels and Development shares also rose. Traders said interest from foreign buyers and strong tourism figures helped boost the stock by 5.7 percent to LE 44.90. Heliopolis Housing jumped 5 percent to LE 141.70, which traders said was due to positive market sentiment after it posted a 64 percent increase its net profit to LE 57.3 million in the first half of the fiscal year. Overall, the benchmark Hermes index ended 1 percent higher at 63,183.13 points, and the CASE 30 rose 0.7 percent to 7,205.64 points. The broader CIBC-100 index ended the session 0.4 percent up at 281.51 points.
