CAIRO, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Shares in investment bank EFG-Hermes <HRHO.CA> <HRHOq.L> soared to their highest this year on Sunday on a rumour that an investor may be seeking a stake, traders said.

Demand for EFG, Egypt's largest investment bank by market value, helped push the index up 2.4 percent to 9,395.64 points, its sharpest single-day gain in almost three months. EFG shares surged 8.4 percent to 58.07 Egyptian pounds ($10.56).

"There is a rumour that Abraaj Capital might increase or sell their stake in EFG-Hermes," said Hashem Ghoneim, chief executive of El Nour Securities.

Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj Capital bought a 25 percent stake in EFG-Hermes last year.

Yasser el Mallawany, EFG-Hermes chairman and chief executive, said he was in a meeting and could not speak when contacted on his mobile phone. Abraaj officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Gains in Gulf Arab markets earlier this month, as oil pushed toward $100 a barrel, were also helping EFG-Hermes stock rise, said Mohamed Kotb, investment manager at Jazira Asset Management.

"We are seeing Gulf markets rebounding sharply with the oil price going up and we believe that Gulf markets will continue to appreciate in terms of value and volume," he said. "EFG is the leader in financial services in the region and it will benefit."

Shares in Orascom Construction Industries <OCIC.CA> <OCICq.L>, the largest Arab construction firm by market value, jumped 6.31 percent to 515 pounds, their sharpest single-day gain in more than a year.

The stock had dropped 5 percent last week.

"This is a normal rebound," Kotb said. "We believe the correction was temporary and the uptrend will continue."

Shares of real estate companies also surged. Shares of Sixth of October Investment and Development (SODIC) <OCDI.CA> jumped 4.2 percent to to 217.10 pounds. Shares of Heliopolis Housing <HELI.CA>, Egypt's largest housing company by market value, climbed 5.4 percent to 473 pounds.

Buying on real estate stocks was mainly from Gulf Arab investors, said Aly Allouba, head of equities at Delta Securities.

Egypt's Hermes index <.HRMS> gained 2 percent to 83,021.38 points and the broader CIBC index <.CIBC> rose 1.5 percent to 397.25 points. ($1 = 5.50 Egyptian pounds) (Reporting by Will Rasmussen) (([email protected]; Cairo newsroom; +20 2 2578 3 290/1))

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