Egyptian mkts go up after 22PC plunge

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CAIORO, Egypt, Apr 3 (Bloomberg): Egypt stocks climbed to the highest level since January, led by Six of October Development & Investment (OCDI) Co, on investor speculation declines in real-estate shares last month were overdone given growth prospects. Six of October, a luxury developer, jumped 8 per cent, trimming the drop since trading resumed March 23 after an almost two-month suspension to 15 per cent. Palm Hills Developments SAE (PHDC), a Cairo-based property company, gained for the first time in 10 trading days. Egypt's EGX 30 Index (EGX30) advanced 1.7 per cent to 5,558.64 at the 2:30 p.m. close in Cairo. The index has lost 1.6 per cent since trading resumed. Dubai's measure fell today, while Israel's benchmark index rose 0.8 per cent. "Real-estate stocks are attractive as they have become extremely discounted," said Ashraf Akhnoukh, senior equity sales trader at Cairo-based Commercial International Brokerage. "The sector was the worst performer since the market resumed trading." The EGX 30's 22 per cent plunge this year has left the index valued at 1.5 times book value, compared with about 1.9 times at the end of 2010, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Palm Hills has tumbled 43 per cent since trading resumed and Talaat Moustafa Group (TMGH) Holding, Egypt's biggest publicly traded real-estate developer, has slumped 28 per cent. Neither the EGX 30 nor the broader EGX 100 have subindexes, according to data on Bloomberg.