Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
Doha bourse fails to sustain above 7,000 points
July 15, 2010--Negative input from oversea markets dragged the Qatar Exchange (QE). The QE Index closed 0.78% lower at 6,963.53 points. Investors booked profits in the financial segment in particular.
The country's largest financial institution Qatar National Bank (QNB) ended 0.43% lower at QR137. Fitch ratings services affirmed the 'A+' rating of QNB with outlook 'stable'. Trading volumes dropped insignificantly as 3.77m stocks changed hands (compared to 3.91m shares on Wednesday).
Source: AME Info
Abu Dhabi market declines slightly
July 15, 2010--Abu Dhabi's ADX General Index dipped slightly, closing at 2,523.78 points. Shares of real estate bellwether Aldar Properties ended 0.74% lower at Dhs2.67. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) ended among the top gainers. ADCB shares added 1.79% and closed at Dhs1.70.
The sheikhdom's largest financial institution National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), on the other hand, closed unchanged at Dhs11.00. A total of five shares closed even, 10 advanced and nine lost value.
Source: AME Info
Tadawul bourse: resilient financials, sluggish petrochemicals
July 14, 2010--Riyadh's Tasi composite ended 0.67% lower at 6,174.74 points. While a number of banks bucked the downtrend, such as Samba (up 1.32% at SR57.50), investors booked profits at petrochemical leader Sabic (down SR2 at SR88.00) or Yanbu National Petrochemical Company (7.36% lower atSR39.00).
Al-Ahlia Insurance Company topped the charts and finished 4.82% higher at SR59.75. But just twenty shares added value, despite bullish inputs from overseas, and 106 lost value while 16 ended flat.
Source: AME Info
Qatar Exchange recaptures 7,000-points level
July 14, 2010--The Doha-based QE Index ended at 7,018.48 points (up 0.85%) as trading volumes nearly doubled to some 3.9m stocks changing hands. Insurance firms in particular outperformed the market. Islamic insurance topped the charts by gaining 6.67%, closing at QR45.20.
Qatar Insurance (4% higher at QR69.00) and Doha Insurance (up 3% at QR28.00) joined the top 10 stocks. But General Insurance dipped against the sector trend by posting the biggest loss among all shares, ending 2.66% lower at QR51.20. The QE Index posted the highest gain in the GCC on Wednesday
Source: AME Info
Bahrain bourse stabilizes
July 14, 2010--As trading interest nears meltdown in Manama, the BSE index added 0.05% and closed at 1,389.58 points.
Most shares did not post a price change, and only Inovest added value. The share gained 6.25%, closing at $0.51. No stock lost value at the BSE.
Source: AME Info
ETFs are sure bet for Qatar, Gulf bourses’
July 12, 2010--
ETFs will boost liquidity and attract international investors to the region, according to Blackrock vice president Robert Blackwell
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are sure bet for Qatar as well as other Gulf bourses to increase the liquidity and to enhance global visibility for their listed entities, according to a UK-based asset management firm Blackrock.
“If more ETFs are in the region, there should be more liquidity. International investors will have more access to the region,” Blackrock vice president Robert Blackwell told Gulf Times in an interview.
ETFs are mostly (but not exclusively) index-based open-ended funds that can be bought and sold as quickly and easily as ordinary shares on a stock exchange. They provide investors with the opportunity to access markets that were previously closed to them. Asked whether the ETFs offered more global visibility to the listed companies, he said it would absolutely do so and “anything that increase the liquidity is a good thing.”
Highlighting greater demand for ETFs from the service providers in future, Blackwell said there was already one country-specific ETF in the UAE. In October 2009, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Dow Jones Indexes announced that the bank had licensed the Dow Jones GCC Titans 50 Total Return Index with Saudi Local UAE Index (Dow Jones GCC Titans 50), the first index authorised by Tadawul to include Saudi Arabian stocks.
The Dow Jones GCC Titans 50 measures the performance of 50 leading component stocks traded in the Gulf region. “I think there is scope for ETFs in Qatar as international investors are interested in bringing money,” Broadwell said, adding any ETF should comprise broad market sectors.
Source: Gulf Times
Dubai market recaptures 1,500 points
July 12, 2010--Sunday marked the first day with stocks from the local bourse DFM and the international market Nasdaq Dubai being traded on the same platform, as both exchanges merge. Stimulated by a strong week debut at the Saudi bourse on Saturday, the DFM Index added 0.43% and closed at 1,506.27 points. Market bellwether Emaar extended its recovery, climbing 1.55% higher at Dhs3.27.
While DFM shares are traded in Dirham, stocks at the Nasdaq Dubai remain denominated in US-Dollar. Nasdaq Dubai-heavy weight Dubai Ports (DP) World added 1.63%, finishing at $0.437. The migration of Nasdaq Dubai's trading platform to the DFM is aimed to increase awareness and liquidity at the common Dubai market. The new Dubai exchange might soon merge with Abu Dhabi market ADX to form a national Emirates Financial Market, according to industry sources.
Source: DME Info
NASDAQ Dubai routes trading via DFM platform
July 11, 2010--NASDAQ Dubai today started trading of all its listed equities through the trading platform of Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in a bid to boost the number of shares changing hands. The move, under preparation since December 2009, is part of a consolidation between the two exchanges that is unique in the Gulf Cooperation countries that comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Clearing, settlement and custody functions for NASDAQ Dubai equities also migrated to DFM''s systems today, under an outsourcing structure which is designed to substantially increase liquidity on NASDAQ Dubai in due course.
In May 2010, DFM acquired two thirds of the shares of NASDAQ Dubai through an acquisition of shares from Borse Dubai and NASDAQ OMX, the international exchange group. Jeff Singer, Chief Executive of NASDAQ Dubai, said: "This new structure brings together more than half a million individual investors on DFM with NASDAQ Dubai''s institutional investors, many of them based outside the region.
It positions Dubai as a leading international capital markets hub, providing investors with excellent liquidity and issuers with a choice of regulatory frameworks." NASDAQ Dubai remains a separate exchange regulated to international standards by Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), which gave approval for the outsourcing last week.
DFM is regulated by the UAE''s Securities and Commodities Authority. NASDAQ Dubai remains a separate company inside the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
It retains its own legal framework, listing rules and Members. Essa Kazim, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of DFM, said: "Cooperation between the two exchanges will increase, driving the expansion of Dubai as a centre of capital markets dynamism and innovation.
Today''s outsourcing is a major step for us and the region. "Through these growing links, DFM gains a wider array of product offerings and international expertise, while NASDAQ Dubai benefits from DFM''s high liquidity and enormous base of over 552,000 investors.
" DFM and NASDAQ Dubai equities are now displayed together on the DFM website www.dfm.
ae. NASDAQ Dubai equities also continue to be displayed separately on the NASDAQ Dubai website www.
Source: NASDAQ Dubai
Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange Weekly Views
July 11, 2010--Commodities Overview
This week commodities prices could move sideways in a more volatile range than last week. Gold, silver, and crude oil in particular may test highs and lows this week, as investors, speculators, and traders battle to see which direction has the most power.
This week, the battle may be contained within recent ranges. Oil might bounce between $72 and $75 per barrel, basis WTI, while gold might test the lows around $1,185 and $1,215 - $1,220 on the high side. Silver may have a one-dollar trading range. While these ranges may contain these three main commodities this week, each of them has the capacity to break out of these ranges on short notice. At this point, it seems that there is a greater likelihood that prices break out on the high side of recent ranges than fall below them, for gold, silver and petroleum at least.
Currencies Overview
Currency markets may trade largely sideways this week, continuing the overall pattern of the past few weeks. Investors are relatively balanced in their views toward the major traded currencies at present. They both like and dislike the economic prospects across the industrialized economies in roughly equal amounts. In light of this, the consensus view is to try to balance one’s portfolio across these markets, and to hedge the entire exposure to the industrialized economies with increased investments in India and other emerging economies. There is a view that the U.S. economy may be somewhat stronger than economic prospects in Europe and Japan, but not so much stronger as to warrant further sharp appreciations of the dollar against these currencies at this time. Meanwhile, reduced investor anxiety over
Source: Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange (DGCX)
Kuwait market dips 0.28%
July 8, 2010--Closing 0.28% lower at 6,430.9 points, the KSE Index was the only composite in the GCC which lost on Thursday.
Shares of United Gulf Bank (UGB) extended its decline, finishing 8.2% lower at KD0.280. During the first week of July, UGB shares were almost reduced by the same value they gained in June.
Source: AME Info
If you are looking for a particuliar article and can not find it, please feel free to contact us for assistace.
