Kuwait market KSE adds a quarter percent
July 22, 2010--The KSE Market or Price Index extended its advance from Wednesday, finishing 0.25% higher at6,582.6 points. All sector indices went up with the exeception of the KSE bank segment which ended flat.
Global Investment House added another 6.55% after it rallied during the week, closing at KD0.065. Over the week, the KSE market gained 1.36%, also thanks to the IMF's positive outlook for the northern Gulf state, saying its economy would grow by 1.9% this year.
Source: AME Info
Qatar bourse ends flat at 6,951.89 points
July 22, 2010--The Qatari stock market ended flat after a lackluster trading day. Investors booked profits at banks in particular, with Doha Bank (the number three in Qatar) eased 1.13% to QR44.40. But Credit Suisse maintained its outperform rating on Doha Bank and target price of QR64 per share after the bank reported on Tuesday a second quarter net income of QR300m, down 5.4% on a year on year basis and 4.9% quarter on quarter.
EFG Hermes Chief Economist Dr. Monica Malik told Bloomberg that "Qatar continues to see the strongest credit environment of the GCC countries, driven by loan growth to the public sector. Total credit grew by 26.7% year on year in June, with public sector growing by just over 100.0%." Dr. Malik concluded that "The latest credit data supports our view of a strengthening domestic demand outlook in 2010."
Source: AME Info
Abu Dhabi market adds one percent over the week
July 22, 2010--The ADX gained 0.59% on Thursday (closing at 2,550.98 points) and 0.97% over the third week of July. Gulf Livestock Company topped the charts, ending 9.93% higher at Dhs4.98.
National Bank of Fujeirah (NBF, flat at Dhs5.00) reprted a net profit for the first half year of Djs83.0m compared to AED 60.7m in 2009. NBF's Cost to income ratio improved from 50.9% in 2009 to 36.7%. Al Dhafra Insurance weakened in value by 5.08% to Dhs4.30.
Source: AME Info
Investors unimpressed by Emaar results
July 22, 2010--The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) ended 0.16% lower at 1,528.97 points. Market bellwether Emaar reported a net profit of Dhs802bn ($218m) for the second quarter, a 6% increase over the first quarter of the year. But Emaar shares closed unchanged at Dhs3.37.
Nevertheless, investors can look at an encouraging week, with the DFM stabilizing above 1,500 points, a lesser volatile market and overall positive second quarter company results. Traded value decreased in Thursday by 12% to Dhs132.91m, while some 103.474m stocks changed hands, 20% more than on Wednesday. Interior designer Depa posted the largest loss, ending 4.29% lower at $0.67.
Source: AME Info
Standard & Poor's fund services assigns first rating to Saudi based fund
July 21, 2010--Standard & Poor's Fund Services announced today that it has assigned an A fund management rating to SAIB GCC Equity Fund, the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) equities fund managed out of Saudi Arabia to receive an S&P fund management rating.
Launched in July 2004, the fund is managed by Sohail Hayyan, who took over the management of the fund in March 2008 and who works closely with Sethuraman Narayanan, assistant manager. The team is overseen by two experienced individuals, CEO Radi Al Haddad and CIO Fazal Seyyed, who have successfully set up a healthy working environment and improved stability within the team.
Source: Standard & Poors
Tadawul bourse defends 6,000-level
July 21, 2010--The most liquid stock was Aabar Investments as it extended it rally by 2.12% and finished at Dhs1.93. Real estate bellwether Aldar Properties ended flat at Dhs2.57.
Petrochemical industry leader edged up by two percent and closed at SR86. As in Qatar, insurance firms led the rebound, with Gulf General Cooperative Insurance Company posting the second largest advance, finishing 7.77% higher at SR44.40.
Source: AME Info
Abu Dhabi investors take profits, sent ADX 0.29% lower
July 21, 2010--The ADX General Index ended at 2,536.10 points (down 0.29%). Losses at the emirate's largest banks National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) (1.81% lower at Dhs11.30) and First Gulf Bank (FGB) (off one percent at Dhs14.30) weighed on the market.
The most liquid stock was Aabar Investments as it extended it rally by 2.12% and finished at Dhs1.93. Real estate bellwether Aldar Properties ended flat at Dhs2.57.
Source: AME Info
Dubai market gains 1.43% amid fresh optimism
July 21, 2010--After UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Dubai ruler HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum declared in a CNN interview (to be aired on Friday) that the recession was over investors went on a buying spree at the DFM, sending the main index 1.43% higher to 1,531.36 points.
"There is a new kind of optimism in the UAE. Investors, however, do not look anymore for fast gains, but for quality and sustainability", Imad Ghandour, Executive Director, Private Equity at Gulf Capital in Abu Dhabi told AME Info. Emaar was the most liquid stock, surging by three percent to Dhs3.37. The emirate's leading real estate developer was topped by construction firm Arabtec, advancing 3.9% to Dhs1.86. Traded value increased by a fifth to Dhs150.19m while 86.53m stocks changed hands, up by a quarter compared to Tuesday.
Source: AME Info
Mena private equity activity declined in 2009 but set to rebound in 2010
July 20, 2010--Private equity in the Middle East witnessed a decline in 2009, with fund managers raising only $1.06bn compared to a near-record $5.4bn in 2008 according to the 4th annual Private Equity& Venture Capital in the Middle East report released by the Gulf Venture Capital Association (GVCA) in collaboration with KPMG and Zawya.
Private equity investments have also regressed from $2.72bn in 2008 to $561m in 2009. Private equity investments globally as well as regionally were affected by the cautious investment environment as a result of the continued recession in 2009.
However, private equity firms in the Middle East and North Africa raised $1.25bn in the first quarter of 2010, an 18% increase over all of 2009, as regional economies recovered and investor appetite returned.
Source: AME Info
Saudi market declines by one percent
July 19, 2010--Profit taking and stuttering oil prices triggered the Saudi Tadawul bourse to weaken by one percent. Oil prices lost 58 US-Cent as of the close of trading in Riaydh on Tuesday, as the price declined below the level of $76 per barrel. The lead index Tasi closed at 6,068.65 points.
Shares of market bellwether Sabic, the world's largest petrochemical firm, eased 3.42% to SR84.75. A number of Insurance firms bucked the fickle trend in Riyadh, such as The Company for Cooperative Insurance, also known as Tawuniya, which surged 4.65% to SR89.75. Tawuniya operates 100% on the basis of Islamic Law or Shari'ah and the firm has the only Standard and Poor's 'A'-rating among rated Takaful operators in the region.
Source: AME Info