Tighten corporate governance, Saudi firms urged as MSCI looms
May 30, 2018--Saudi companies should boost efforts to align their corporate governance and investor relations functions with international standards ahead of a possible upgrade by emerging markets index provider MSCI.
Source: Zawya.com
Reform to change the Israeli index investing market
May 28, 2018--Index Research founder Yaniv Kunis explains the effects of the upcoming reform in Israel's ETNs.
October 3, 2018 will be a historical day for the Israeli capital market.
After a decade of planning one of the largest reforms ever made the short-term savings sector in Israel, the market will say goodbye to its most popular index product-Exchange Traded Notes (ETN)-and will welcome its successor-Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
This regulatory change affects nearly NIS 120 billion of domestic public funds and industry participants. At the end of the process, the mutual funds industry in Israel will also experience a tremendous change and become a splitter with two heads: active funds alongside passive funds.
Source: globes.co.il
Reform bonus for Saudi banks as profits surge
May 24, 2018-- Saudi banks, which are working to capitalize on economic reforms, have defied recessionary trends by posting profits during the first quarter of 2018.
The banks have cumulatively reported a 7.5 percent year-on-year increase and an 18 percent quarter-on-quarter growth in net profit for the first quarter, thanks to lower interest expenses and provisioning charges.
Source: Zawya.com
UAE stocks to extend gains on Cabinet decisions
May 22, 2018--The UAE stock markets are likely to extend gains on Tuesday following Cabinet's recent decisions, analysts told Mubasher.
On Sunday, the UAE Cabinet, headed by vice president and ruler of Dubai Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced a new long-term visa to some international investors and talented professionals, allowing 100% foreign ownership in companies.
Source: Zawya.com
MIDEAST STOCKS-Emirates NBD boosts Dubai; Abu Dhabi, Saudi stocks also up
May 22, 2018--United Arab Emirates stocks led regional gains on Tuesday, with Dubai's market bolstered by a surge in Emirates NBD after it agreed to buy Turkish lender Denizbank for $3.2 billion.
Source: Zawya.com
Telecom, new government decree push up ADX on Monday
May 21, 2018--The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange's (ADX) general index increased by 32.47 points, or 0.73%, to close at 4,458.33 points on Monday, encouraged by the telecommunication sector and the new foreign ownership regulation.
Source: Zawya.com
Saudi indices seen negative at Monday's close
May 21, 2018-- The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) ended Monday in the red after its benchmark Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) decreased 21.6 points or 0.27%,reaching 7,996.4 points.
TASI's trading volume reached 105.7 million shares down from 117.1 million shares on Sunday, while liquidity fell to SAR 2.5 billion from SAR 2.6 billion.
Source: Zawya.com
S&P Dow Jones may lift Saudi Arabia to emerging market status
May 17, 2018--Equity index compiler S&P Dow Jones said it was consulting investors on whether to upgrade Saudi Arabia to emerging market status, a new sign of growing interest in the kingdom among global fund managers.
Source: Zawya.com
Mideast Stocks: Saudi banks merger boosts Alawwal as geopolitical worries weigh on Gulf
May 17, 2018-- Saudi Arabia's Alawwal Bank soared on Wednesday after the announcement of its planned merger with Saudi British Bank, while most Gulf stock markets closed in negative territory on the back of rising geopolitical concerns.
Source: Zawya.com
MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi rebounds on strong oil prices, rest of Gulf down
May 17, 2018-- Higher oil prices helped Saudi Arabia's stock market to offset some of this week's losses on Thursday, though other Gulf markets were down as geopolitical concerns continued to weigh on investors in the region.
Trading activity was also slow because of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, traders said.
Source: Zawya.com