Low trading activity drags Abu Dhabi bourse down
January 10, 2011--The ADX General Index dipped 0.34% to end at 2,754.73 points. Real estates and banks weighed on the sentiment. RAK Properties was the main loser among the ADX-listed developers, ending off 4.26% at Dhs0.45.
Rental levels in Abu Dhabi have continued to decline with mixed fortunes for landlords depending on location, quality and price in Q4 2010, according to a new report published today by leading UAE property management company Asteco. Shares First Gulf bank dived 2.16%, closing at Dhs17.90. Commenting on the global economic climate in 2011, Jan Amrit Poser, Head of Research and Chief Economist at Swiss Private Bank Sarasin, today said in a statement that "The first half of 2011 will be marked by a constant struggle between the stimulating forces of fiscal policy initiatives and the growth-impeding effect of deleveraging in the private sector. (...) It will only be clear by the end of the year that this recovery will be sustainable." Only 24.7m stocks worth Dhs45.21m changed hands as four stocks gained, seven ended flat and 15 declined.
Source: AME Info
Kuwait market falls for the third consecutive day
January 10, 2011--The KSE Market index close 0.34% lower at 2,754.73. The segments for industry and services firms weighed on the market sentiment in particular.
First Investment Company, which declined significantly in 2010, continued to recover and surged 9.43% to reach KD0.116 on Monday. Financial bellwether National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) finished off 1.35% at KD1.460.
Source: AME Info
Qatar Exchange falls back below 9,000 points
January 10, 2011--Investors extended profit booking at the Qatar Exchange, which dipped 0.39% to close at 8,993.63 points. As the market index, Qatar Telecom dipped 0.39%, finishing at QR178.20.
Earlier in the day, Qtel has announced that group member Wataniya Palestine Mobile Telecommunications Public Shareholding Company ("Wataniya Mobile"), the Palestinian mobile phone operator, today celebrated its first day of trading on the Palestine Exchange under the ticker "Wataniya". The first day of trading follows the successful completion of the Wataniya Mobile's IPO, which raised a total of $50.3m, the largest IPO in Palestine for 10 years. Year-to-date, the QE Index leads in the GCc with a profit of 3.59%. In 2010 the QE Index gained 24.75%.
Source: AME Info
Saudi Stock Exchange loses 0.82%
January 10, 2011--Low trading volumes, stable oil prices and a lack of news forced the Saudi Arabian Tadawul bourse down by 0.82% to finish at 6,668.13 points.
Petrochemical and energy shares posted losses in particualr from profit bookings as oil prices were fickle during the last days, trading below 90 US-Dollars. Bellwether Sabic dipped 0.94%, closing at SR105.75. National Metal Manufacturing and Casting Co. surged 6.33% to reach SR31.90, finishing as a top gainer.
Source: AME Info
Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange Weekly View January 9, 2011
January 9, 2011-Economic Data Overview
The January 10 week follows up the employment report with a series of economic data releases that will help firm up perceptions of conditions in the fourth quarter 2010. The highlight is likely to be the retail sales report, but the data on inflation will be nearly as closely watched.The release of the Fed's Beige Book will also shape expectations for the upcoming FOMC meeting on January 25-26.
Earnings season for the fourth quarter 2010 gets off to its unofficial start with the report from Alcoa on Monday. The first week's reports are fairly sparse, especially for big names, but will include Intel on Thursday and JPMorgan Chase on Friday.
The most anxiously awaited of the week's data will have to wait until Friday when both the retail sales and CPI reports are released at the same time. The weekly measures of retail activity and the monthly same-store sales comparisons for fiscal December both point to a possible strong report for retail and food sales in December.
The Consumer Price Index for December should reflect higher food and energy prices, but at the core will continue to show few areas of upward pressure.
The CPI is preceded by the December Producer Price Index on Thursday, and the Import Price Index for December on Wednesday. Both are also expected to show that inflation remained quite tame at year-end, and see some upward pressure from commodities prices.
Source: Source: Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange
men to sell sukuk to finance growth
January 6, 2011--Yemen plans to sell $500m of local currency Islamic bonds to fund the country's budget deficit and spur the Shariah-compliant finance industry, Bloomber has reported.
The central bank may offer sukuk in the domestic market from the first quarter, Deputy Finance Minister Jalal Yaqoub told the news service.
Source: AME Info
Arabtec shares recover
January 6, 2011--The local Dubai exchange finished the first week of the New Year and new decade positively. The DFM General Index added. Shares of Arabtec recovered 2.02% to reach Dhs2.02, after the UAE's largest construction firm suffered a setback on news that its CEO Riad Kamal was banned from trading by the market regulator ESCA for six months.
CEO Kamal called the issue "trivial, according to media reports, and declared to cooperate with ESCA to find a solution. Three stocks lost, 22 gained and one ended flat. Islamic bank Ajmanbank declined 0.21% to finish at Dhs0.815. Its rival Noor Islamic Bank (NIB, not listed), which has also just passed three years of operations, today opened today the new headquarter for its Islamic insurance arm Noor Takaful in Dubai at the Sheikh Zayed Road near the Noor Islamic Bank-Metro station. Grop CEO Hussain AlQemzi told AMEinfo.com that he is positive for the Islamic finance in 2011 in general and that he is optimistic NIB will break even in 2011. The Group CEO again denied that there were any plans to merge with Islamic bank Dubai Bank. Traded volumes declined 15% as 66.58m shares worth Dhs106.88m (off 20%). During the first week of January the DFMGI gained 2.34%.
Source: AME Info
Abu Dhabi blue chips gain, index dips
January 6, 2011--The ADX General Index dipped 0.16% to end at 2,752.33 points, despite gains among real estate and energy heavyweights. Shares of Dana gas surged 1.30% to reach Dhs0.78. Aldar Properties gained 2.59%, closing at Dhs2.43, while Sorouh Real Estate posted a profit of 1.83%, ending at Dhs1.67.
Etisalat, however, declined 0.94% to finish at Dhs10.70 and as trading volumes remained low the telecom giant weighed on the index. Some 72.29m worth Dhs134.99m changed hands. Over the week the ADXGI added 1.19%.
Source:AME
Banks weigh on Kuwait exchange
January 6, 2011--The Kuwait market KSE did not cheer after the country's Prime Minister Shaikh Nasser Al Mohammad Al Sabah survived a parliamentary no-cooperation motion on late Wednesday. The KSE Market or Price Index weakened
Thursday by 0.34%, ending at 6,975.6 points. Islamic bank Kuwait Finance House (KFH) lost 3.22% on profit booking, closing at KD1.200. Gulf Bank of Kuwait, which doubled in value in 2010, dipped 1.72%, finishing at KD0.570.
Source: AME Info
Qatar market cracks 9,000 points-level
January 6, 2011--A gain of 0.28% at the Doha-based Qatar Exchange (QE) was enough to rise above 9,000 points, as the lead index closed at 9.019.26.
Real estate developer United Development Company added 0.72% to reach QR28.00. Doha Insurance finished 1.32% higher to close at QR30.70.
Source: AME Info