Egypt’s main index closed 0.5 percent higher, its fourth session of gains, buoyed by Orascom Telecom which was up on continued speculation over an imminent close to its deal to sell assets to South Africa’s MTN.
Orascom, which surged 12 percent on Sunday, rose 3.1 percent.
"OT rallied on speculation that talks with MTN are close to being final, and it dragged most of the big caps with it," said Ahsraf Akhnoukh of CIBC Brokerage.
Investment bank EFG-Hermes rose 4.17 percent, partly on speculation it could play a role in carrying out the OT-MTN deal, Mohamed Radwan of Pharos Securities said.
Pioneers Holding rose 1.47 percent after it said it would buy back 14 million treasury stocks as part of its employee stock option program.
Orascom Construction (OCI) also climbed 2 percent. The index closed at 6,549 points.
