MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt rises on housing programme, ignores militants | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt rises on housing programme, ignores militants | Reuters:



"* Egyptian investors believe militants can be contained



* Dubai falls but some stocks rebound near close



* Arabtec rises after winning Kazakh contract



* Qatar Insurance lifts bourse after UK acquisition



* Bahrain up as Arab Banking Corp surges on earnings



By Olzhas Auyezov

DUBAI, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Egypt's bourse rose to a five-year high on Wednesday, ignoring a militant threat against foreign tourists, after the central bank said it would give local commercial banks $1.4 billion to fund mortgages. Most Gulf markets rose though Dubai was hit by profit-taking.



The Sinai-based militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis warned tourists to leave Egypt and threatened to attack any who stayed after Thursday. It is taking aim at an important part of Egypt's economy and a key earner of foreign exchange.



But many Egyptian investors believe the government can prevent the violence in Sinai from seriously destabilising the rest of the country, and that billions of dollars of aid from Cairo's Gulf allies will support its finances."



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