Market shares rose on Thursday as a rally in the real estate sector resumed on rumors that more land auctions are imminent, brokers said. Heliopolis Housing and Medinet Nasr Housing were the main beneficiaries, both gaining 8.8 percent and last trading at LE 549 ($96.49) and LE 336. One broker cited a report that the local authorities were planning to tighten the restrictions on building in the Medinet Nasr district on the northeastern edge of Cairo, a step which would make the land there more valuable. Property stocks have dominated trading for weeks since a sale of government land around Cairo fetched prices way above the market s expectations. Two brokers said the rumors of another auction, possibly as early as this weekend and possibly by one of the companies with large land holdings, contributed to the new real estate rally. The housing sector s on a crazy roller coaster and there has been a lot of irrational trading, said Hashem Ghoneim of El Nour Securities. But one of the most actively traded housing stocks, Sixth of October Investment and Development (SODIC), slipped 1.2 percent to last trade at LE 147.40. Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), which has been expanding in the region, hit an all-time high of LE 375.99 and ended at a record close of 370.05. But sister company Orascom Telecom (OT) slipped 2.6 percent to LE 71.50 after several brokerages downgraded the stock. On Wednesday Morgan Stanley cut its rating for OT to equal weight from overweight. The benchmark Hermes index gained 0.59 percent to 67,725.78 points and the well-watched CASE 30 index rose 0.35 percent to 7,563.09 points. The broader CIBC index ended 0.53 percent up at a lifetime high of 338.49 points.
