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Mideast Stocks: Gulf slides in response to Wall Street's tumble
February 4, 2018--Gulf stock markets sank early on Sunday in response to Friday's tumble on Wall Street, after U.S. data showed the strongest annual wage growth since 2009 and raised the risk of more interest rate hikes than expected this year.
The Saudi index dropped 0.6 percent in the first hour with falling shares outnumbering gainers by a ratio of about two to one. Al Rajhi Bank, which rose strongly in January, partly on expectations it will be included in global emerging market indexes when Saudi Arabia is eventually upgraded to that status, fell back 1.2 percent.
DGCX Reports Strong Start to the Year with Record January Volume
February 2, 2018--Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX), the largest and most diversified derivatives bourse in the Middle East, began 2018 on a positive note by recording its best January in volumes and value ever, growing 40% from last year with 1,909,488 lots traded, valued at USD 47 billion (AED 172.6 billion).
The main drivers of this strong trading month were the Indian Rupee, G6 currency pairs and the Indian Single Stock Futures (SSF) with the BSE Sensex Futures.
Growing volumes in DGCX Indian SSF contracts following the launch of an additional 44 blue-chip stocks is a direct result of the Exchange meeting the needs of global participants to access Indian markets in an efficient and secure manner.
MIDEAST STOCKS-Dubai Islamic Bank pulls down Dubai, rest of Gulf moves little
January 30, 2018-- Dubai Islamic Bank pulled down the emirate's stock index in early trade on Tuesday after it announced a new share issue, while other Gulf bourses moved little.
The Dubai index slipped 1.0 percent as Dubai Islamic fell 4.1 percent.
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Egypt: Bourse Gains EGP 6 Billion
January 30, 2018--The Egyptian Exchange indexes posted collective gains at the close of Monday's trading, backed by purchases by Arab and foreign institutions and investment Funds.
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Egypt's Economic Growth Rate Expected to Reach 5% in 2018-IMF Official
January 30, 2018--Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Jihad Azour expected the economic growth rate in Egypt to exceed projections hitting about 5 percent in 2018.
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TASE Launches 6 New Tel-Bond Indices
January 28, 2018--Four Indices are Rating-Based and two are Sector-Based: Tel Bond-Shekel Banks & Insurance Index and Tel Bond-CPI Linked Real Estate Index
TASE Has Launched 7 new Indices since the beginning of 2018 and a Record of 16 New Tel Bond Indices in Less Than a Year
On Jan 25th, 2018, the board of directors of the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) has approved the launch of four new rating-based corporate bond indices and the launch of two new sector-based corporate bond indices-the Tel Bond-Shekel Banks & Insurance Index and the Tel-Bond CPI Linked Real Estate Index.
IMF Executive Board Concludes 2017 Article IV Consultation with Kuwait
January 24, 2018--On January 12, 2018, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Kuwait. [1]
Non-oil growth has picked up modestly over the past two years, and inflation has moderated. After coming to a standstill in 2015, real non-hydrocarbon growth has recovered and is set to reach 2.5 percent this year, driven by improved confidence.
However, a cut in hydrocarbon output by close to 6 percent, reflecting implementation of the OPEC+ deal, will bring overall real GDP down by about 2.5 percent in 2017. Notwithstanding the impact of higher energy and water prices, inflation is on track to reach a multiyear low of 1.75 percent in 2017, due to a decline in housing rents and favorable food price developments.
IMF Staff Country Reports-Arab Republic of Egypt: Selected Issues
January 23, 2018--UNLOCKING HIGHER AND MORE INCLUSIVE GROWTH1
Like some other emerging market economies, Egypt faces the challenge of raising growth and creating
more jobs to improve the living standards of its young and growing population. The analysis in this
paper shows that past growth was characterized by a suboptimal allocation of the factors of production
and a lack of dynamism in the private sector.
By identifying the main constraints to private sector-led growth and higher employment generation, it suggests policies to further shift Egypt's economic model towards increased private sector participation and integration into global value chains. To this end,
reforms should aim at removing the distortions to the optimal allocation of resources in the economy
and equip the labor force with the skills needed to benefit fully from future job opportunities. These
reforms would also help better integrate women and youth into the job market. The authorities have embarked on a reform program to address these challenges and important steps have already been
taken. Improved macro-stability and a strong political commitment to reforms present an opportunity to
further structural reforms that intensify private sector-led growth and job creation and strengthen trade
integration.
view the IMF Staff Country Reports-Arab Republic of Egypt: Selected Issues
ETFGI reports that assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in Middle East and Africa increased by 14% to reach a new high of 40 billion US dollars at the end of December 2017
January 22, 2018--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today that assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed in Middle East and Africa increased by 14.4% during 2017 to reach US$39.90 Bn at the end of December. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in Middle East and Africa increased by $5.03 billion during the year, to reach $39.90 billion.
Year-to-date, through end of December 2017, ETFs and ETPs listed in Middle East and Africa saw net outflows of $2.02 Bn.
MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf moves sideways, Qatar's Widam jumps on dividend
January 18, 2018--Gulf stock markets mostly moved sideways in early trade on Thursday, with Qatari food processor and livestock trader Widam Food one of the few big movers as it soared after raising its annual dividend.
Qatar's stock index edged down 0.1 percent but Widam jumped 9.1 percent in its heaviest trade for months.