Arab stocks steady ahead of semi-annual results

Jun 17, 2011, 14:17 GMT

Amman - Arab stock markets gained fresh ground this week as investors appeared upbeat over the second quarter results and macroeconomic indicators, financial analyst said Friday.

However, they expected regional markets to remain under pressure in the coming weeks from the Arab political turmoil, the Greek sovereign debt crisis and the slow recovery of the US economy.

'I believe Arab markets are in a wait-and-see mood with investors awaiting the semi-annual results,' Wajdi Makhamreh, CEO of the Amman-based Noor Investments brokerage, told German Press Agency dpa.

'I expect speculative trading to dominate regional bourses in the coming weeks as traders come under pressure from the eurozone sovereign debt ordeal and political uncertainty in the Middle East,' he said.

Arab uprisings appeared to have inflicted huge losses on regional stocks over the past five months, according to a report by the Kuwait Assets Management Co. (KAMCO).

The report said that Arab bourses lost 37.7 billion dollars, or 3.83 per cent of their value, since the beginning of 2011, due to a retreat in investors' confidence and the departure of foreign funds invested in the region.

The KMMCO report put the total capitalization of Arab stocks on June 13, at about 946 billion dollars.

The brunt of the losses was borne by the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), due to the close links they forge with global markets, the report said.

Saudi shares were volatile this week with the Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) of the Arab world's largest bourse closing marginally higher at 6,546.06 points, compared with last week's close at 6,540.23 points.

Saudi analyst Mohammad Anqari painted a positive image for Saudi stocks in the coming months, saying he expected TASI to test the 7,000-point and later the 7500-point areas before the end of the year.

'The market is expected to score gains ranging between 15 per cent and 20 per cent,' he said, citing earnings, macroeconomic indicators and high oil prices.

Anqari estimated the total earnings of listed firms at 88 billion Saudi Riyals (23.5 billion dollars) for 2011.

He appeared to discount the impact of the eurozone sovereign debt and the slow world recovery on Saudi shares.

'The main external impact on the Saudi market will come from the Chinese economy, as China is a main importer of Saudi petrochemicals,' he said.

Jordanian shares were volatile this week due to persistent liquidity shortage and lack of confidence, Makhamreh said.

The all-share index of the Amman Stock Exchange gained 0.48 per cent, closing at 2,159 points, according to the ASE weekly report.

Kuwaiti stocks departed the red area this week for the first time in several weeks led by blue chips, the Kuwaiti Wodouh investments said in its weekly report.

Kuwait's KSE all-share index gained 0.5 per cent on weekly basis, closing at 6,337 points.

'Despite this week's improvement, the rally still weak in the absence of real moving factors,' the report said.

The benchmarks of the United Arab Emirates stock exchanges of Dubai and Abu Dhabi gained 2.84 per cent and 2.15 per cent this week, to close respectively at 1,6001 points and 2,761 points.

Qatar's all-share index gained 0.52 per cent, closing at 8,320 points.

Egypt's AGX 30 index, which measures the performance of the market's 30 most active stocks, moved up 0.67 per cent on weekly basis, closing at 5,542 points, mainly due to active buying by Egyptian and Arab investors, analysts said.