Cement shares rose on the Egyptian stock market on Thursday with investors speculating the sector would benefit from a rise in local cement prices and the weakness of Egypt’s pound against hard currencies, traders said.  Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), which on Wednesday posted a 53 percent rise in 2003 net profit, rose slightly but traders said the profit jump was already included in the share price. "There is some focus on cement companies after an increase in cement prices," said Amr Zeidan, chief dealer at Cairo Capital Group. Sinai Cement (SCEM.CA last traded 1.9 per cent higher, Misr Cement Qena last changed hands up 2.5 percent and Misr Beni Suef Cement was last dealt two percent higher. Traders said investors expected the sector to benefit from increased exports thanks to the weakness of the Egyptian pound, which has lost one quarter of its value against the dollar during the last year.
Published under Cement News