CAIRO, May 26 (Reuters) - Egypt's leading stock index nudged higher on Tuesday but traders said volumes were low as many investors stayed away waiting for a resolution to the row over ownership of Mobinil.
Mobinil's two main shareholders, Orascom Telecom (OT) and France Telecom (FT), disagree over an arbitration court ruling and the price of any FT bid for outstanding shares in Mobinil.
Trading in both Mobinil and OT has been suspended since May 19, putting a dampener on business as both are popular with international and institutional investors.
"It has been very quiet these days. We are all pretty much waiting to see what happens on this OT and Mobinil deal. Until that gets resolved, the market is in limbo," said Yasser Hassanein of Dynamic Securities.
"If the deal eventually does get done (and OT sells its stake in Mobinil to FT) the market will respond positively," he said, adding OT would have a cash windfall and investors who sold up in Mobinil could invest the cash in other stocks.
Overall, the benchmark EGX 30 index ended up 81.43 points, or 1.4 percent, at 5,871.08 points, about 170 points short of its year high hit on May 13.
Traders said real estate stocks were the main climbers, as developers benefited from cheaper building materials and could complete projects ahead of schedule.
Sixth of October Development and Investment (SODIC) was among the gainers, rising 6.4 percent to close at 58.89 Egyptian pounds ($10.47). ($1 = 5.6226 Egyptian pounds) (Writing by Edmund Blair)