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Tadawul bourse stays firm, despite regional index losses
May 25, 2011--The Tadawul market in Riyadh gained 0.19% to reach 6,723.64 points
It was the only gaining index in the GCC on Wednesday. Jouf Cement was the most liquid sharea and the top gainer on Wednesday (up 7.35% at SR16.80). Building companies benefit form a planned spending spree amounting to SR130bn HH Saudi King Abdullah, Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques, announced in mid-March. The budget is aimed to build schools, hospitals, roads and to create jobs for young Saudi nationals. Over the week, the Tadawul market added 0.56%. The market will remain closed on Thursday, marking the first day of the Saudi holiday but a debate about shifting the weekend to Friday and Saturday has received momentum this week.
Prices, trading volumes dip at Doha bourse
May 25, 2011--The QE Index ended at 8,340.84, down 0.48%. Al Khalij Commercial Bank declined 1.23% to QR17.66.
Trading turnover dived alomst 50% as 4.7m shares valued at QR180.18m changed hands.
Kuwait Stock Exchange loses the third day straight
May 25. 2011--The KSE Market Index lost 0.64% on Wednesday, closing at 6,369.6 points.
National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) ended flat at KD1.220. Gulf Investment House declined 7.24% to KD0.032. The insurance and industry sectors indices were the only composites which gained, adding 0.26% and 0.13%, respectively.
UAE stock markets remain under pressure
May 25, 2011--The local Dubai market DFM declined 1.16% to 1,526.39 points.
In Abu Dhabi the ADX General Index dipped 0.61% to 2,600.28 points. Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., known as Taqa, lost the most, closing off 4.84% at Dhs1.20. For Abu Dhabi National Takaful the only way remains upwards (gaining 9.90% at Dhs5.44%), despite rallying since the start of the week.
Tadawul market bucks regional downtrend
May 24, 2011--The Riyadh-based Tasi benchmark index added 0.12% to reach 6,710.71 points.
Emaar The Economic City was the most liquid share, losing 1.96% to close at SR7.50. AXA Cooperative Insurance Company surged limit-up by 9.90%, finishing at SR43.30. Seventy-eight stocks gained, 48 lost and 19 remained even.
Agility ends flat as first quarter profits decline by 45%
May 24, 2011--Kuwait's KSE Market Index closed half a percent lower at 6,410.6 points on Tuesday as regional market sentiment remained negative due to ongoing debt woes in Europe.
Shares of Agility Public Warehousing Co. finished even at KD0.375. Earlier in the day, Agility disclosed a first quarter net profit of KD9.15m, down from KD16.85m in the corresponding period in 2010.
Qatar Exchanges loses the third day straight
May 24, 2011--The Doha-based QE Index finished at 8,381.39 points on Tuesday (off 0.71%). All sectors landed in the red. A real estate expert in Doha who does not want to be named told AMEinfo.com that only few firms fire in Qatar and that 2011 will be a period of consolidation in the domestic economy.
Qatar National Bank (QNB) shares lost 1.78% to close at QR137.70. The QE issued a statement earlier in the day, saying "The Qatar Exchange expresses its satisfaction to see Qatari banks enter the exchange as members and start providing financial services activities, including brokerage, with QNB being the first bank to offer brokerage services at Qatar Exchange on Monday May 16th, 2011." But the financial sector took a setback as HSBC announced to quit its operations of HSBC Amanah, the Shari'ah finance division of the bank as a result of the Central Bank's decision to separate conventional and Islamic banking in the country. Conventional banks, such as HSBC, can no longer run Islamic windows.
Abu Dhabi bourse dips in dull trading
March 24, 2011--The ADX General Index lost 0.59% to close at 2,616.29 points.
Abu Dhabi National Takaful was once again the top gainer (up 10% at Dhs4.95). Abu Dhabi Ship Building lost the most (down 6.73% at Dhs2.08). Seven shares gained, 17 ended lower and five closed flat.
Emaar shares rebound one percent
May 24, 2011--The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell sharply during the first hours of trading but eventually recovered territory and ended 0.15% lower at 1,544.28 points.
Bargain hunters lifted Emaar Properties to Dhs3.07 (up 0.99%). Shares of Gulf General Investment Company (GGICO) still suffer from the firm's disclosure that it defaulted on a Dhs489 bank loan in the first quarter this year. GGICO dived six percent to Dhs0.31. DFM shares added 0.83%, closing at Dhs1.21. Some 145.64m stocks valued at Dhs177.61m changed hands.
MENA: Opportunities To Reshape Economic Playing Field
May 24, 2011--There are historic opportunities for greater openness and citizen participation in economies across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that, if strongly managed over the transitions ahead, could see a significant boost to economic growth and living standards in the medium term.
This is the analysis presented today in the World Bank’s Regional Economic Outlook: MENA Facing Challenges and Opportunities. The report notes that current economic disruption in many MENA countries is translating into lower growth in the short term (now forecast at 3.6 percent for 2011 down from 5 percent) but that opportunities in the medium term offer new hope for an inclusive and sustainable development that has not before been seen in the region.
"The rich experience from countries that have undergone political changes suggest that short-term disruptions to economic growth and social tensions are inevitable,” said Shamshad Akhtar, World Bank Vice President for the MENA region. “However, transition offers an opportunity for countries to break with the past and set course in a newer direction. A first order of priority is to offer the right signals to restore public and private investor confidence which, in MENA, calls for ensuring respect and citizen dignity through inclusive social policies, a fundamental change in governance frameworks and swiftly restoring macroeconomic stability."
