CAIRO: Ezz Steel, which makes rebars used in construction, and real estate firms Palm Hills and Sixth of October Development and Investment (SODIC) rose on Egypt s bourse, helped by an improving economic outlook. Investors took encouragement from share price rises in the real estate sector in Dubai, where Emaar Properties shares led the gainers, some traders said. The macro picture looks ... better than before, said Mohammad Radwan of Pharos Securities, adding that this is helping real estate companies and suppliers for construction. Emaar is surging 6 percent, said a senior Cairo trader, who is not authorized to speak publicly, adding that this is adding to positive sentiment in the sector in Egypt. Ezz ended up 4.1 percent, Palm Hills climbed 6.4 percent and SODIC rose 1.6 percent. Meanwhile, the benchmark index ended up a more modest 0.6 percent at 6,745 points, a little shy of its highest level since October last year. Ezz Steel says it is hiking the price of steel rebars in September, which one trader says may also be seen as positive news for the stock. It was a move that we anticipated because of the increase in steel prices globally, Ismail Sadek, an analyst at Beltone Financial, said of the move by Ezz to hike its prices. -Reuters
