Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
Egypt's new currency regime welcomed by IMF
January 2, 2013--The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed steps that Egypt has taken to stop a drain on its international reserves which had recently caused Egyptian pound hit record lows, Reuters has reported.
Egypt, which has spent more than $20bn over the past two years to defend the pound, imposed a new currency regime on Saturday that includes regular foreign currency auctions. "We welcome the measures taken by the Central Bank of Egypt to ensure that the country will continue to maintain a level of international reserves that can support its international trade and payments," an IMF spokeswoman said. "IMF staff is in close contact with the authorities and we remain strongly committed to supporting Egypt."
Source: AME Info
Bahrain Bourse misses positive start into 2013
January 2, 2013--Despite bullish input from abroad, the Bahrain All-Share Index fell 0.17% to 1,063.77 points.
Stock markets worldwides starte with solid gains into the new year after U. S. congress passed a long awaited budget and tax hike compromise. In Manama, shares of Aluminum Bahrain or Alba fell 2.31% to BD0.422. Advances of Islamic bank Al Salam Bank Bahrain (up 9.43%) and Esterad (1.62% higher) failed to lift the market. The Bahrain Bourse was the worst performing GCC market in 2012 when it lost 6%, despite solid gains at the end of December.
Source: AME Info
Dana Gas gains on gas discoveries in Egypt
December 31, 2012--The ADX General Index closed a quarter percentage point higher at 2,633.21 points.
The gauge is the second best performer in the GCC in 2012 as it gained 9.50% since Jan. 1 (behind Dubai, which added 19.90%). Dana Gas advanced on Monday by 2.27% to reach Dhs0.44. Earlier in the day, Dana Gas said in a statement to the ADX that it has discovered two onshore gas wells located in the Nile Delta Basin. "Initial estimates indicate the two discoveries could increase Dana Gas' commercial reserves by up to 55%", said the Sharjah-based energy firm.
Source: AME Info
Dubai market top in GCC in 2012
December 31, 2013--The DFM General Index closed the last trading day of the year with a loss of 0.40%, closing at 1,620.53 as the looming fiscal cliff in the U. S. weighed on the sentiment.
However, the year of the dragon was a comeback for the local Dubai bourse as its main gauge gained 19.89% since Jan. 1, the best performance in the GCC. In the MENA region, only the Egyptian EGX30 Index (up 50.21% y-t-d) performed better. In Dubai, Emaar fell from its two-years high to Dhs3.75 on Monday, while Arabtec closed unchanged at Dhs2.24. Shuaa Capital los the most, ending down 6.95% at Dhs0.549. Trading volumes rose 10% compared to Sunday, as some 165m shares were traded, valued at Dhs210.
Source: AME Info
Kingdom Holding hits 5-year high
December 31, 2012--The Saudi Arabian Tadawul All-Share Index or Tasi slipped 0.34% on the last trading day of 2012, closing at 6,801.22 points.
The gauge ended the year with an annual gain of 5.98%, the third best performance in the GCC behind Abu Dhabi's ADX (9.46%) and the DFM in Dubai (up 19.89%). In Riyadh, shares of The Kingdom Holding surged 3.47% to hit SR20.90, the highest price level since Dec. 2007. Kingdom Holding, whose majority is owned by its founder and multi-billionaire H. H. Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal, earned in the 9-month period this year 10% year-on-year. The investment vehicle currently builds the 1.6km tall Kingdom Tower in Jeddah for SR4.6bn. If completed as planned, it will be the world's tallest tower, double as high as Dubai's Burj Khalifa (828m).
Source: AME Info
Kuwait Stock Exchange gains two percent in 2012
December 31, 2013--The KSE Market Index declined 0.22% to 5,934.28 points.
The market measure failed to crack the resistance level at 6,000 points several times this year but ended 2012 with a tiny plus of two percent. The northern Gulf state's largest lender National Bank of Kuwait or NBK underperformed during the year by losing 4%, closing Dec. 31 at KD0.960. The IMF expects Kuwait's real economy growth to decline to 1.9% in 2013, down from an expected 6.3% this year.
Source: AME Info
ADX to implement "Call Auctions"
December 28, 2012--The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) has unveiled plans to implement a new trading mechanism from January 2, Gulf News has reported.
The new mechanism, known as “Call Auctions,” will be based on calculating the closing prices and its shift to a new Free Float Index, Abdullah Salem Al Naimi, manager of market surveillance at ADX, told the daily. The migration from the current system of Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) will help ADX operate more seamlessly with global systems, Al Naimi added. “There will be a pre-closing auction session from 1:50pm to 2pm. During this period, brokers will be allowed to enter orders of buy or sell into the automated system as well as change them but without executing them,” he said.
Source: AME Info
Egypt plans to increase bond sale target by 60%
December 28, 2012--The Egyptian finance ministry plans to sell about 60% more government bonds next quarter after political unrest prompted authorities to delay an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan regarded as crucial to regaining investor confidence.
The plan marks a reversal of the government's strategy last quarter to cut long-term debt sales by 49% in expectation of a $4.8bn IMF loan deal. "Unless we see liquidity inflows from the central bank or foreign investors, local banks will have to carry the burden of the extra debt," Amr Seif, chief dealer at Piraeus Bank Egypt, told the news service.
Source: AME Info
Egypt Cancels Auction On T-Bills
December 28, 2012--Egypt canceled an auction on 182-day and 364-day treasury bills that was supposed to take place on Thursday.
The auction aimed at raising six billion pounds and it was the first debt sale after a rating cut at Standard & Poor's raised borrowing costs in the country.
Source: AllAfrica.com
FTSE NASDAQ Dubai UAE 20 index hits one-month high
December 27, 2012--The FTSE NASDAQ Dubai UAE 20 Index, which measures the performance of 20 liquid stocks listed on the Dubai market DFM, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange ADX and NASDAQ Dubai, gained 0.63% to reach 1,806.38 points Thursday.
It is the highest index-level since Nov. 29 this year. DP World gained 0.80%, finishing at $11.52. Since Oct. 1, the Shares of the world's third largest port operator have been trading in a range between $11.50 and the 2012-high at $13.
Source: AME Info
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