Amman - Arab stock markets lost some ground this week as
investors appeared wary of second quarter results. But financial
analysts said Friday they expected regional bourses to remain steady,
deriving momentum from rising oil prices.
'We believe regional stocks will keep up their upward thrust in
the coming weeks, propelled by rising oil prices,' an Amman-based
portfolio manager told the German Press Agency dpa.
'At the same time, investors will keep a close eye on the second
quarter results of listed firms, given fears that many businesses
could emerge in the red due to the repercussions of the global
recession,' he said.
Such concerns found expression in the Saudi bourse which witnessed
a very volatile week despite surging oil prices that indicate the
world's largest crude exporter will be able to sustain high public
spending.
The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) of the Arab world's largest
stock exchange shed 1.8 per cent this week, closing at 5,941.20
points.
TASI is currently 23.7 per cent higher than the year's start,
according to the weekly report of the Riyadh-based Bakheet Investment
Group (BIG).
'This week's violent fluctuations indicate that investors are
losing direction in their investment decision,' the report said.
However, the BIG expected the Saudi market to derive force from
decisions by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) to start trading of
bonds and sukuk as of Saturday, and to put four new firms to public
subscription.
'We believe that the Saudi market will be steady until listed
companies start to release their financial results for the third
quarter of the year, which gives clues as to the direction of the
market, particularly blue chips,' the report said.
Jordanian shares were also volatile this week as investors
resorted to profit-taking moves ahead of the weekend, analysts said.
The all-share index of the Amman Stock Exchange declined 1.52 per
cent this week, closing at 2,910 points, according to the ASE weekly
report.
Kuwaiti shares retreated this week after a rally that lasted
several weeks. Analysts cited the standoff between the government and
the parliament as one of the key reasons behind the decline.
The KSE all-share price index lost 1.1 per cent this week, to
close at 8,277 points.
United Arab Emirates stocks continued to score fresh gains this
week, an indication that the UAE bourses of Dubai and Abu Dhabi were
poised to go up further due to boosted confidence in markets, analyst
Mohammad Afifi from the Dubai-based Al-Fajr Securities said.
'The fact that stocks remained bullish despite this week's strong
profit-taking moves will convince more traders to enter the market,'
he said.
The benchmark prices of the stock exchanges of Dubai and Abu Dhabi
gained 3.6 per cent and 2.3 per cent this week, closing respectively
at 2,099 points and 2,868 points.
Egypt's AGX30 index, measuring the performance of the market's 30
most active stocks, shed 0.8 per cent this week, closing at 6,193
points.
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