CAIRO: Egypt s benchmark CASE 30 index continued to rebound for a second session on foreign buying on Sunday, correcting a fall that saw indexes hit year lows last week, traders said. The index gained 2.09 percent to close at 8,149.65 points after losing around 6 percent across three sessions of losses last week, before bouncing back on Thursday on a rise in Orascom Construction Industries. Foreigners were again the only net buyers on Sunday, by LE 69.4 million ($12.9 million), according to stock exchange data. Hashem Ghoneim, chief executive of El Nour Securities, said the rise suggested the usual summer lull was drawing to a close, and that the cheap prices after last week s dip had made most sectors attractive. It s about time. The market is extremely cheap... Going through the end of August people will be back and active both in and out of Egypt, so I think we should start seeing some buying, especially the blue chips that were hammered, Ghoneim said. But others were less optimistic in their assessment. The index is doing very well, but on very weak volumes, so it doesn t mean we re recovered yet or that the market is turning around, said Karim Hosny of Pharos Securities. Ezz Steel Rebars saw its shares last trade 7.34 percent higher at LE 59.65 per share. Hosny said Sunday was the last day for shareholders to benefit from a rights issue for a capital increase. Investment bank EFG-Hermes also rose, its shares last trading 4.05 percent higher at LE 47.05 as investors continued to buy into the company, which bought a 50 percent stake in a Kuwaiti brokerage unit on Monday. Real estate developer Talaat Moustafa s shares rose 2.33 percent to LE 6.60 pounds per share. The widely-watched Hermes index rose 1.89 percent to 713.04 points, while the broader CIBC 100 index gained 1.12 percent to 382.87 points.
