UAE stocks decline
November 20, 2013--Majority of UAE shares declined yesterday as fluctuations continued a week before the Expo2020 decision is to be announced in Paris. The local indices had witnessed declines on Sunday and was followed by gains on Monday.
"For the UAE the market is trading sideways and it is so dependent on the Expo2020 [announcement] which not too far away," said Saleem Khokhar, head of equities at National Bank of Abu Dhabi. "That's a catalyst for some volatility. If we don't get it, it will be negative. And if we do get it, it will be positive, but you may see some profit taking going into that."
Source: Zawya
MSM inches up in range-bound trading
November 19, 2013--The general index of the Muscat Securities Market traded range bound and inched up 0.06 per cent to 6,768.82 on Monday. Regional markets closed mostly mixed.
Market capitalisation increased 0.061 per cent to RO13.79bn, while the market breadth stood in favour of advancers as of the 51 securities traded for the day 20 advanced while 14 declined and 17 stocks remained unchanged.
Source: Zawya
Domestic institutions' buy support lifts QE
November 19, 2013--Domestic institutions' hunt for stocks yesterday lifted the Qatar Exchange for the sixth consecutive session with its key index inching near the 10,500 mark.
Real estate, transport and consumer goods particularly came under severe buying pressure, which led to the 20-stock Qatar Index (based on price data) gain 0.73% to 10,359.41 points.
Source: Zawya
Middle East offers distant hope
November 18, 2013--At the end of October, the UK became the first non-Muslim country to host the World Islamic Economic Forum.
Not content with Middle Eastern money boosting the capital's property market and helping build iconic buildings such as the Shard, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne wants London to become "the unrivalled western centre for Islamic finance".
Source: Financial News
Saudi, Qatar gain on year-end dividends
November 18, 2013--Stocks in Saudi Arabia and Qatar continued to benefit on Sunday from year-end dividend-hunting while Bahrain slipped after some companies posted third-quarter losses. Markets in the United Arab Emirates remained volatile.
Saudi stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index climbed 0.8 percent to 8,384 points.
The top performer in Saudi Arabia was Southern Province Cement, which is expected to deliver a 5.9 percent dividend yield this year compared with the index average of 3.9 percent, according to consensus analyst estimates from Thomson Reuters. The stock jumped 9.2 percent.
Source: Zawya
Qatar Exchange Roundup: Strong net buying props up index
November 18, 2013--After a day of hesitation at the beginning of the week, things changed to a better start from Monday, with the bourse performing better during the rest of the week. The improvement on the stock market has been stimulated by a number of factors that include the fact that year-end is approaching when it is time for dividend distribution.
The New York Stock Exchange last week registered new record levels for the first time this year, and regionally, stock markets in the UAE, and Riyadh also put up record performance in the hope of the success in negotiations to settle Iran's nuclear issue.
Source: Zawya
QE extends rally to 5th day on local buy momentum
November 18, 2013--The Qatar Exchange yesterday opened the week on a stronger note, mainly due to robust buying interests from local retail investors.
Higher buying demand, especially for transport and banking equities, led to a sustained bull run for the fifth straight session.
Source: Zawya
Kuwait bourse 'retreats' 44.16 pts; volume tapers
November 18, 2013--Kuwait stocks retreated sharply Monday after eking modest gains in the day before. The index slid 44.16 pts to 7868.93 pts as investors locked in profits in select counters led by banks.
Selling was also seen in some of the mid and low caps even as the trading floor sentiment turned negative.
The KSX-15 benchmark shed 8.98 pts to close at 1,077.62 points taking the month's losses to 24 points while the weighted index fell 2.64 pts. The volume turnover meanwhile receded after rebounding strongly in the previous session. 317.98 million shares changed hands--a 15.77 pct drop from Sunday. It had hit a multi-month low earlier last week ahead of the CMA deadline for companies to declare their financial results.
Source: Zawya
TADAWUL: Energy, cement stocks stay in the limelight
October 18, 2013--The Saudi stock market ended Sunday's trading session solidly in the green. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) closed up 66.62 points or 0.8 percent to 8,383.77, after being up as much as 94 points.
On year-to-date basis, the TASI crossed a positive return of 23 percent. Med cap indices showed the best performance, advancing more than one percent.
Source: Zawya
UAE markets reverse Sunday declines
November 18, 2013--Led by the biggest stock, Emaar Properties, in Dubai and banks in Abu Dhabi, UAE markets reversed their Sunday declines to post more than one per cent gains on Monday.
Both markets have witnessed high volatility in the past few weeks in the run-up to the Expo 2020 announcement. Last week, Dubai's index was down 2.53 per cent as investors booked profits amid what has been a strong run for the bourse this year.
Source: Zawya