Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
IMF Working Papers-Oil Prices and GCC Stock Markets: New Evidence from Smooth Transition Models
May 9, 2018--Summary:
Our paper examines the effect of oil price changes on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock markets using nonlinear smooth transition regression (STR) models. Contrary to conventional wisdom, our empirical results reveal that GCC stock markets do not have similar sensitivities to oil price changes.
We document the presence of stock market returns' asymmetric reactions in some GCC countries, but not for others. In Kuwait's case, negative oil price changes exert larger impacts on stock returns than positive oil price changes. When considering the asymmetry with respect to the magnitude of oil price variation, we find that Oman's and Qatar's stock markets are more sensitive to large oil price changes than to small ones. Our results highlight the importance of economic stabilization and reform policies that can potentially reduce the sensitivity of stock returns to oil price changes, especially with regard to the existence of asymmetric behavior.
Source: IMF
BUZZ-Dubai Financial Market down almost 1.7% after Q1 profit slump
May 8, 2018--Shares of Dubai Financial Market are down almost 1.7 pct in early trade after its Q1 net profit dropped by more than half.
DFM, the only listed bourse in the Gulf, reported a quarterly net profit of 48.9 mln dirhams ($13.31 mln) vs 102.3 mln dirhams a year earlier.
Source: Zawya.com
MIDEAST STOCKS-Markets down on Iran concerns, EM weakness; blue-chips lift Saudi
May 3, 2018--Middle East stock markets moved down in line with global emerging markets and because of persisting geopolitical tensions, as the risk of the United States pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal looms.
The Saudi Arabian index was in negative territory most of the day but closed up 0.1 percent as some selective buying for blue-chip stocks such as Al Rajhi Bank, up 0.8 percent, and Saudi Arabia Mining Co (Ma'aden), up 2.4 percent, offered support to an otherwise sluggish market.
Source: Zawya.com
MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi hit by valuation woes, Drake & Scull hurts Dubai
May 1, 2018--Saudi stocks slid 0.6 percent on Tuesday as concerns grew about rich valuations for blue-chip stocks after the region's biggest stock market hit a more than a two-year high last week.
Most Gulf markets were lower with Dubai and Qatar both falling more than 1 percent.
Source: Zawya.com
IMF Staff Country Reports-Israel: Selected Issues
May 1, 2018--UNLEASHING ISRAEL'S POTENTIAL: IS BOOSTING PUBLIC INVESTMENT THE ANSWER? 1
Israel can be characterized as a dual economy, that is well known for its dynamic high-tech sector, but the remainder of the economy has relatively low productivity. One of the factors weighing on Israel's labor productivity are its sizable infrastructure needs, which may also hinder the labor participation of some groups.
To address this issue, the authorities are preparing a long-term strategy to support higher infrastructure investment. This paper analyzes the macro-fiscal implications of an increase in infrastructure spending, taking into account Israel's dual economy character.
A. Israel's Infrastructure Needs
1. Israel's labor productivity is low and the gap with peers persists. Israel's high-tech sector
is famous for startups, but it also includes R&D centers of many major technology companies. The
high-tech sector currently comprises around 21 percent of gross value added, up from 12½ percent
in 1995. Despite the strong performance of this sector, Israel's overall labor productivity rose by only ¾ percent annually in recent decades, leaving its sizable productivity shortfalls virtually unchanged.
Source: IMF
DGCX Year-to-date Volumes Up 35%; Shari'ah Spot Gold sees impressive debut
May 1, 2018--The world's only exchange traded Shari'ah Compliant Spot Gold contract (DGSG), which listed on the DGCX on March 29th, has been very well received by investors, trading over 314 kilograms of gold worth USD 13.39 million since inception.
The product was the first of its kind to be launched in the GCC, and its success demonstrates a strong appetite for exchange-traded Islamic products among investors.
Source: Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX)
Israeli institutions join global flow to ETFs
April 30, 2018--Total investment by Israeli financial institutions in ETFs worldwide rose by over NIS 4 billion last year.
Last year saw yet further meteoric growth in index products. Hundreds of billions of dollars flowed into exchange traded funds (ETF) worldwide, with investors in Israel also playing their part in the global shift.
Source: globes.co.il
MIDEAST STOCKS-Dubai lifted by Emaar Dev earnings, weak oil depresses other markets
April 30, 2018--Dubai shares rose on Monday, helped by strong earnings at Emaar Development and outperforming the Gulf region, where most markets weakened amid a slight correction in oil prices and selective profit-taking.
Oil dipped after a rising rig count in the United States pointed to higher production there, but markets held near their highest in more than three years.
Source: Zawya.com
MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi stocks slip; Qatar's Ooredo down on earnings miss
April 26, 2018--Saudi stocks slipped in early trade on Thursday, with investors continuing to sell some blue chips after the index hit a more than two-year high earlier in the week. Other Gulf markets were mostly sluggish.
Source: Zawya.com
MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi petrochemical stocks under pressure despite index rise
April 26, 2018--Saudi petrochemical stocks ended Thursday's trading on the downside after some disappointing earnings, but key banking and property stocks helped the index close slightly higher.
Other Gulf markets were mixed.
Source: Zawya.com
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