Egyptian Food producer Edita lifted trade on the Egyptian bourse on Tuesday after the company performed a transaction worth more than EGP 900 million, an analyst told Ahram Online.

Private equity firm Actis sold a stake totalling 7 percent in Egypt's Edita Food Industries worth more than EGP 900 million, sources told Reuters. Edita’s share price closed unchanged at EGP18 per share.

“Foreign investors targeted the Edita transaction, which along with Cleopatra company drove up trade in the session,” added Mahmoud Shaaban, chairman at the Root Brokerage House.

Daily stock turnover recorded EGP 1.57 billion, with non-Arab foreign investors contributing more than 73 percent to trade. Non-Arab foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of EGP 230 million, while Egyptians were net buyers to the tune of EGP 116 million.

Benchmark index EGX30 inched up 0.41 percent to 7,483 points.

“Trading is slow as the holy month of Ramadan approaches, a season when investments traditionally slow,” Shaaban said.

The country’s largest private hospital group reported on Monday that its shares publicly offered to institutions were oversubscribed more than six-fold and private placement to individuals was oversubscribed 28.6 times, thus listing 25 percent of its outstanding share capital.

Blue chip Commercial International Bank (CIB) gained 1.24 percent to EGP 42.56 a share.

One of the leading real estate developers, SODIC, edged up 0.09 percent to EGP 10.67 a piece despite reporting a fall in net profit to EGP 54.64 million in the first quarter of 2016 from EGP 79.31 million in the same period a year earlier.

“Real estate developers do not usually take a hit as profits are only recorded after the sold unit is delivered,” Shaaban said.

Carpet manufacturer Oriental Weavers also increased 1.24 percent to EGP 6.5 a share despite a fall in its first quarter net profits to EGP 94.17 million from EGP 152.68 million.

Cable manufacturer El-Swedy Electric dropped 0.75 percent to EGP 44 a share. The company reported net profits of EGP 767.73 million in the first quarter of 2016, up from EGP 260 million in the same period a year prior.

*The official exchange rate for $1 = EGP 8.87