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Egypt delays reopening of stock exchange
February 6, 2011--Egypt's stock exchange will not reopen on Monday as planned and a date to resume trading has yet to be decided, Khaled Serri, head of the exchange, has said.
He was quoted by the MENA state-run news agency as saying the date for "resuming operations of the stock exchange has not been determined yet," adding that it would depend on developments. Serri said 48 hours notice would be given before trading resumes. The bourse was last open on January 27.
Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange Weekly View-February 6, 2011
February 6, 2011--Economic Data Overview
Data releases are few and far between next week and will generally hold market attention only briefly. There are a fair number of Fed officials on the public speaking calendar, but it is Chairman Bernanke's testimony on Wednesday that will receive the most interest. The only major central bank to make a routine announcement during the week is the Bank of England, where no change in policy is expected.
In the end, the most prominent piece of economic data during the week is likely to prove to be the December international trade report on Friday. It will help fill out expectations for the second estimate of fourth quarter 2010 GDP in the net exports component.
Earnings season is well underway, and many of the headline-grabbing reports have already been released. However, there are still more than a few big names to report in the coming week. Retailers are beginning to release their earnings number, but industry powerhouse Walmart will not release its earnings data until Tuesday, February 22.
On Monday, reports include Choice Hotels, Edgar Online, Emerson Radio, Hasbro, Humana, Loews, Lorillard, Sysco, TMX Group, United Bancorp and Wausau Paper. Tuesday reports are from McAfee, Pitney Bowes, Sara Lee, Toyota, UBS and Walt Disney. Wednesday's reports include Air France-KLM, Allied Healthcare, Cisco Systems, Computer Sciences Corporation, Equifax, GM, Ingersoll-Rand, MetLIfe, Northrop Grumman, Sanofi-Aventis, Sonoco, Allstate, Coca-Cola, Hanover Insurance and Whole Foods. Reports on Thursday are from Borg Warner, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Credit Suisse, Fortis, Inland Real Estate Group, Kraft Foods, Molson Coors Brewing, PepsiCo, Philip Morris, Rio Tinto, Spectrum Brands, Sprint Nextel and Thompson Reuters, while
Kuwait Exchange loses the most over the week
February 3, 2011--The KSE Market Index lost 0.66% on Thursday, closing at 6,774.5 points. Over the first trading week of February, the KSE waekened by 2.44%.
While banks performed well overall, investment and indusytrial firms were fickle. Islamic bank Kuwait Finance House gained 1.63% to reach KD1.240. Al Eid Food Co. surged 9.8% to close at KD0.112.
Abu Dhabi bourse outperforms GCC market
February 2, 2011--The ADX General Index gained 0.87% to reach 2,647.17 points. First Gulf Bank, known as FGB, shares surged 7.88% to close at Dhs17.80 after FGB reported results for 2010. Credit Suisse analyst Mohamed Hawa in London commented on FGB: "
"One more time, FGB reports good results with Q4 net income of Dhs865m (up 1% y-o-y and 1.9% q-o-q) slightly missing our estimates (by 4%), but beating consensus estimates by 50.4%." Hawa concluded: "The stock is still trading below book value. We thus maintain our Outperform rating and 12 months target price of Dhs28." Abu Dhabi National Energy Company or Taqa, plummeted 3.55% to close at Dhs1.36. During the first week of February, the ADX lost 0.52%.
Dubai market down in a rollercoaster trading day
February 3, 2011--The DFM General Index closed 0.87% lower at 1,581.01 points. The market remained volatile amid uncertainty due to the Egypt crisis and a widely feared "domino"-effect in the Middle East.
Commercial Bank of Dubai posted the largest loss (down 8.82% at Dhs3.10). Emaar dipped 0.91% to finish at Dhs3.25. Bank Emirates NBD bucked the trend by gaining twp percent to reach Dhs3.05. Some 90.19m shares worth Dhs128.20m changed hands. Four shares gained, 20 declined and one remained flat. Over the first week of February, the DFM lost 1.96%.
Bahrain Financial Exchange officially launched
Febraury 3, 2011--Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), has welcomed the operational launch of the Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX), which is set to commence trading on February 7th, 2011.
The BFX is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Financial Technologies Group - which is a global leader in creating and operating technology centric, next-generation financial markets - officially launched today as the Middle East and North Africa's first ever multi-asset exchange, which is internationally accessible to trade securities, derivatives, structured products and Shari'a- compliant financial instruments. It sets out to offer direct access to one of the world's fastest growing and largest areas of financial liquidity. The Exchange also incorporates an internationally accredited training institute, the (BFX-TI).
Dubai market jumps 3.31%
February 2, 2011--After uncertainty was taken out a bit of the crisis in Egypt with President Mubarak declaring not to run again for elections in September, the DFM Index closed 3.31% higher at 1,594.87 points.
Emaar recovered 5.81% To reach Dhs3.28. Shares of the DFM climbed 5% up, closing at Dhs1.47. Islamic insurance operator Dartakaful was the main loser, ending down 3.26% at Dhs0.86. Some 175.23m shares worth Dhs278.60m changed hands.
Energy, real estate shares lift Abu Dhabi market
February 2, 2011-The ADX Index gained 0.96% to reach 2,624.31 points. Aldar Properties, the sheikhdom's first real estate developer, jumped 7.83% to close at Dhs1.79. National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) added half a percent to close at Dhs12.00.
Earlier in the day, NBAD said its subsidiary NBAD-Egypt accounted for around 3.5% of the group assets: 3% of loans and 4% of net income in the year ended 31 December 2010. "The Bank also has cross border exposure on Egyptian entities of some $400m" the statement to the ADX says. Dana Gas surged 6.35% to close at Dhs0.67. National Bank fo Fujairah was the mein loser today, closing down 9.77% at Dhs2.77.
Kuwait bourse adds 0.21%, banks recover losses
February 2, 2011--The KSE Market or Price Index closed at 6,819.3 on Wednesday as financials and food firms recovered territory. Dar al Thuraya Real Estate Co.,knwon as Thuraya (Arabic for star), posted the largest gain (up 10.24% to reach KD0.027).
National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) rebounded by 2.86% to reach KD1.440. Yesterday, NBK reported net profits of $1,075m (KD301.7m) for 2010, up 14% compared to the previous year.
Qatar Exchange closes even
February 2, 2011--While the insurance sector and industrials gained value in Doha, banks and services declined, leaving the QE Index unchanged at 8,738.70. Commercial Ban of Qatar bucke the trend and closed 2.40% higher at QR85.20.
"All countries of the GCC are expecting to post growth in terms of real GDP for 2010. The average growth of the region is expected to be 4.5% reaching $567bn, with Qatar leading the way at 16.0%", Kuwait's Global Investment House says in its recently published MENA Economic Overview.
