The Egyptian Exchange has suspended trading for half an hour after a rise in the EGX 100 index exceeded the customary 5 percent in the first minutes of trading.

The capital market also gained more than 15.5 billion pounds to reach some 496.8 billion.

The EGX 30 benchmark index leapfrogged by 5.78 percent to 8,738.25 points.

The broader EGX 70 index of the leading smaller and mid cap enterprises (SME) increased by 5.21 percent to 459.25 points.

The all-embracing EGX 100 index upped by about 5 percent to reach 966.27 points.