Etisalat shares slip as telco giant reports lower 9-month income
October 18, 2011--Shares of the UAE's first telecom provider Emirates Telecommunication Corp. or Etisalat lost 0.10%, closing at Dhs9.97.
Earlier in the day, Etisalat reported a 9-month profit of Dhs5.13bn, down 8.4% compared to the previous year's quarter. Earnings per Share declined to Dhs0.65 from Dhs0.71.
Source: AME Info
Sharjah Islamic Bank reports higher Q3 profit, share ends flat
October 18, 2011--The Abu Dhabi stock exchange ADX fell 0.29% Tuesday, closing at 2,446.78 points. Sharjah Islamic Bank or SIB closed even at Dhs0.88.
Earlier in the day, SIB reported that in the third quarter its net profit amounted to Dhs81.5m compared to Dhs73.13m in the same period the year before. Earnings per Share remained flat at Dhs0.03.
Source: AME Info
Dubai market loses, DP World recovers
October 18, 2011--The DFM General Index ended 0.62% lower at 1,357.71 points. Real estate cooling specialist Tabreed lost the most (off four percent at Dhs0.601).
Emaar dipped 0.40% to Dhs2.46. NASDAQ Dubai-listed DP World, whose shares are also listed at the DFM, added 0.37% to re-reach $11.00 amid high trading volumes. Some 40.6m shares were traded, valued at Dhs55.8m.
Source: AME Info
Sabic shares dip despite Q3 profit jump
October 17, 2011--The Saudi Tadawul market ended insignificantly lower at 6,131.8 points. Sabic ended half a percent lower at SR91.75.
Earlier in the day, Sabic reported an interim net income for the quarter of SR8.19bn compared to the net income of SR5.33bn for the same quarter in 2010 representing an increase of 54%, and compared to the net income for the second quarter of 2011 of SR8.10bn representing an increase of 1%. Sabic commented in a statement: "The increase in net income for the quarter and period ended September 30, 2011 compared to the same quarter and period in 2010 is attributable to the increase in production and sales volumes, improved product prices as well as lower financing charges."
Source: AME Info
Commercial Bank of Qatar gains on rising net profits
October 17, 2011--The Qatar Exchange (QE) Index added 0.39%, closing at 8,470.36 points. The country's second bank Commercial Bank of Qatar, known as CBQ, advanced 1.23%, finishing at QR82.00.
Earlier in the day, CBQ announced it has earned a net profit of QR 1.51 billion during the first nine months in 2011, a 14% increase, compared with QR1.33bn for the same period in 2010. The main drivers behind the increase were a strong growth in customer loans and advances (up 20% at QR41.5bn) and customer deposits (16% higher at QR36.9bn).
Source: AME Info
Global Investment House recovers further
October 17, 2011--The KSE Market Index closed unchanged at 5,898.4 points. Kuwait's largest investment bank Global Investment House surged 3.65% to reach KD0.0425, approaching a key resistance level at KD0.048.
Kuwait Syrian Holding was the top loser, closing down 7.9% at KD0.029.
Source: AME Info
United Arab Bank achieves higher Q3 profit, share ends flat
October 17, 2011--The Abu Dhabi bourse ADX closed down 0.71% at 2,453.97 points. Pharmaceutical drug manufacturer Julphar gained the most, closing 2.33% higher at Dhs2.20. Market bellwether Etisalat dipped below Dhs10.00, hitting a one-year low at Dhs9.99 (off 1.48%). Shares of United Arab Bank were not traded. Earlier in the day,
UAB reported for the third quarter a profit of Dhs91.75m, compared to Dhs75.5m in the corresponding period in 2010. Some 46.9m shares were traded, valued at Dhs82.m.
Source: AME Info
Dubai bourse declines by 0.61% as blue chips lose further ground
October 17, 2011--The DFM General Index closed at 1,366.22 points Monday, as Shuua Capital (down 3.08% at Dhs0.756) weighed due to ongoing uncertainty over the Euro debt crisis, while DMF shares rebounded by 0.92% to reach Dhs0.99.
Emaar Properties fell 1.20% to Dhs2.47. According to the DIFC Economic Weekly, quoting Saudi Arabia's NCB, Dubai will witness an excess supply of 15,000 units on the housing market end of year. Some 56.32m shares were traded, valued at Dhs66.7m.
Source: AME Info
Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange Weekly Market Commentary - October 16, 2011
October 16, 2011--Economic Data Overview
With the employment and retail sales numbers for September out of the way, market attention in the October 17 week will turn to data on inflation, housing, and manufacturing.
The Fed's Beige Book on Wednesday will provide an overview of economic conditions across the 12 Fed Districts for approximately the six weeks of late August through early October. This is not firm data, but it does tend to reflect the direction of economic activity in the hard numbers. This report will be used by the FOMC to help set the direction of monetary policy and influence the tone of the Committee's collective economic forecast. The prior issue of the Beige Book was more downbeat than the previous report, but it was also a time of greater uncertainty for businesses. While a complete turnaround is unlikely, the outlook should be improved.
The September inflation numbers will include some declines in food and energy prices. In particular, gasoline prices have fallen, and will be reflected in lower transportation costs. Some other recent sources of higher prices -- like motor vehicles, tobacco, and precious metals will also have eased. The Producer Price Index will be reported on Tuesday, and the Consumer Price Index is set for Wednesday.
The first looks at manufacturing activity in October will be reported on Monday with the New York Fed's Empire State Survey and the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook on Thursday. Both these indexes took a big hit in early August when the contentious debate about raising the statutory debt limit and the consequent downgrade in the S&P rating for US sovereign debt took place. Matters were not improved by the devastation in the Northeast from Hurricane Irene late in August that kept activity low into early September. While neither index may be ready to register a positive reading, there should be some evidence of improvement.
Industrial production and capacity utilization in September on Monday may offer a better numbers for output at manufacturers, and in mining and utilities as a slowing related to flooding in late August gives way to a bit of a rebound in the next month.
Initial jobless claims for the week ended October 15 on Thursday will include the survey comparison week to September. The level of claims appears to have settled around the 400,000-mark, which would represent a sizeable decline from the 428,000 in the September 17 week. The Treasury International Capital System (TICS) data for August at 9:00 ET on Tuesday will cover the period in which the S&P downgrade of the US debt rating occurred, as well as when euro zone sovereign debt problems intensified.
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for September on Thursday will probably lose some momentum after four months of positive readings. Small positive contributions from the workweek, claims, and the money supply will have to overcome sluggish spending on plant and equipment, weak confidence, and a plunge in the stock market.
There are no routine monetary policy announcements from major central banks
Source: Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX)
Lebanese banks maintain growth rates
October 13, 2011--According to a report by Bank Audi Lebanon Weekly Monitor, the Lebanese banking sector continued to achieve relatively good growth in assets and customer deposits in the first eight months of this year despite the political situation and regional turmoil, The Daily Star has reported.
Domestic banking activity grew by 7.1% since the beginning of the year to reach $138.1bn at the end of August 2011. Customer deposits accounted for more than 80% of total banks' balance sheets, a 5.4% growth in the December 2010 to August 2011 period, the report said.
Source: AME Info