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Bank shares in Kuwait re-gain some ground
August 08, 2011--The KSE Market Index ended 0.20% lower at 5,956.80 points. While financial bellwether National Bank of Kuwait lost 1.88%, shares of Islamic banks Kuwait Finance House and Boubyan Bank gained 1.12% and 1.72%, respectively.
Kuwait suffers from global recession fears and lower oil prices as nine tenth of the country's federal budget relies on oil exports. Much depends on the resilience of the U. S. economy. "While it is true that significant extra demand for oil has been coming from China in recent years, US remains the top consumer of oil," says Dr. Giyas Gokkent, Chief Economist at National Bank of Abu Dhabi.
Sabic shares price slump halted
August 8, 2011--The Saudi Arabian Tadawul market dipped 0.33%, closing at 6,057.79 points. Recession fears pulled oil prices further down to a seven month-low at $83.10 per barrel on Monday, hurting national revenues for the world's largest crude oil exporter.
After a decline of over eight percent in the last two days, shares of market bellwether Sabic, closed unchanged at SR97.50. Saudi Re for Cooperative Reinsurance Company posted the largest advance, closing at a limit-up 10% higher at SR8.80. Forty-one shares gained, 81 declined and 23 closed flat.
Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange Weekly Market Commentary-August 7, 2011
August 7, 2011--Economic Data Overview
The August 8 week is a fairly light one for economic data. The US Treasury auctions the first leg of its quarterly refunding package. The FOMC meets on Tuesday. Second quarter earnings reports will remain plentiful, but at this point most industry bellwethers have reported.
The highlight of a light week for economic data releases will be the report on retail and food sales for July on Friday. The numbers are likely to look lackluster in spite of a small rise in unit sales of motor vehicles. Gasoline prices were little changed from the prior month. While many retailers will have been able to clear out summer merchandise due to unusually hot weather in much of the US, new fall merchandise likely languished. Weekly measures of retail activity suggest that while July got off to a good start with sales around the July 4 holiday, sales in the rest of the month tapered off.
The earliest monthly reads on consumer confidence for August are the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index on Tuesday, and the preliminary Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index on Friday. July data for consumer attitudes turned gloomier on volatility in financial markets and concerns associated with the economic outlook. That probably will not have improved in the first week or so of the current month.
The international trade deficit for June, which is due on Thursday probably will not help lift expectations for the second estimate of second quarter GDP. Although the trade gap may have narrowed from May, it will not be enough to provide any substantial upward revision to the 1.3% growth rate in the preliminary estimate.
The preliminary report on productivity and costs in the second quarter will be released on Tuesday, and will incorporate the revisions from the GDP data. The downward revisions to recent quarters will make the overall tone of these numbers softer for productivity.
The report on overall business inventories for June on Friday will
Dubai bourse DFM falls over four percent at opening
August 07, 2011--United Arab Emirates: Reacting to S&P's downgrade of the US credit rating and Saudi Arabia's mini-crash on Saturday, the DFM General Index opened down 3.14%, and minutes after extended its loss to over four percent.
Shares of Arabtec Construction underperformed after the UAE's largest construction company reported a net profit for the first six months of Dhs Q2 profit of Dhs98.55m, down from Dhs301.769m in the same period last year.
GCC countries should stop pricing oil in dollars
August 4, 2011--The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Authority has recommended GCC countries should move away from pricing oil in dollars towards a basket of currencies that would include the Chinese yuan, Muscat Daily has reported.
"Indeed, I am in favour of using the yuan for clearing and settling all GCC trade with China, who has become our biggest trade partner," Dr Nasser H Saidi, chief economist and head of external relations of DIFC, told the daily.
Qatar Navigation soars as subsidiary is awarded a billion dollar contract
August 04, 2011--The Qatar Exchange in Doha advanced by 1.10% on Thursday, closing at 8,490.81 points. Shares of Qatar Navigation jumped 5.13%, reaching QR81.90.
Earlier in the day, Qatar Navigation announced that its fully-owned subsidiary, Qatar Shipping Co., has been awarded a QR1.875bn ($506m) contract by Qatar Petroleum. "Under the terms of the contract," the statement says,"Qatar Shipping will provide and operate harbor tugs, pilot boats and mooring gangs for Mesaieed Port for a period of 20 years from August 2014. Qatar Shipping will construct 19 boats in the coming three years to service this contract." Over the week, the QE Index added 1.34%.
Kuwait Stock Exchange closes unchanged
August 04, 2011--The KSE Market Index ended insignificantly lower at 6,066.2 points (off 0.02%).
While industry and food shares regained some ground, banks and investment firms weighed on the market index. As most GCC market indexes, the KSE gained slightly over the week (up half a percent).
Aldar Properties, Etisalat push Abu Dhabi market higher
August 04, 2011--Despite very negative input from stock exchanges abroad, the ADX General Index ended 0.77% higher at 2,670.79 points. ADX bellwethers Aldar Properties (up 1.59% at Dhs1.29) and Etisalat (0.96% higher at Dhs10.45) led the market's way up, which gained 0.84% over the first trading week of the Holy Ramadan.
Aldar reported a net profit of Dhs316.4m for the first half of 2011, compared to a loss of Dhs789.5m for the first half of 2010. Net profit for the second quarter 2011 was Dhs127.3m, compared to a loss of Dhs475.3m for the second quarter 2010. Abu Dhabi Aviation Company posted the largest decline (off 5.71% Dhs3.30). Around 41.3m shares were traded, valued at Dhs170m.
Emaar cracks Dhs3-resistance level
August 4, 2011--August 04, 2011--The Dubai equity market index DFM General ended the first trading week of August positively, closing 0.90% higher at 1,541.15 points.
Trading volumes rose sharply as 88m shares worth Dhs135m were traded. Emaar Properties, the most liquid share, gained 2.70% and finished at Dhs3.04. Shares of rarely traded Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), the number nine in the UAE banking sector, ended flat at Dhs3.01. Earlier in the day CBD announced it has closed a $450m (Dhs1.65bn) term loan facility. The facility, mandated by a group of international banks, has a maturity of three years will be used by CBD for general business purposes. Investors booked profits at bank Emirates NBD (off 2.39% at Dhs4.09) and Bahrain's Gulf Finance House (down 088% at Dhs0.565). During the week, the DFM General Index advanced by 2.32%.
Tadawul market remains stuck below 6,500 points
August 03, 2011--After a sharp rise at the start of the week, the Saudi Stock Exchange fell for the second day straight on Wednesday, closing off 0.30% at 6,423.87 points. Sabic declined by a quarter percent to SR103.75.
Despite the fickle equity markets trend in the GCC , Gary Dugan, CIO Private Banking at Dubai-based bank Emirates NBD, remains cautiously optimistic about regional shares. "We remain buyers of local equities where corporate results have generally been supportive, liquidity remain good and the oil price supportive of regional growth," Dugan writes in his latest comment on markets "CIO Weekly".
