Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
Tadawul market retreats by 0.71%
May 23, 2011--The Saudi Stock Exchange closed 0.71% lower at 6,702.76 points as weak performing energy and petrochemical shares weighed on the bourse.
Market bellwether Sabic dipped 0.23% to SR107.50. Jouf Cement was the most liquid share, adding 1.32% to close at SR15.30. Thirty-three shares gained, 99 lost and 13 ended even.
Source: AME Info
Mena equity markets to see growth
May 23. 2011--Ahead of a possible upgrade by MSCI of Qatar and the UAE markets, a regional asset management firm has said equity markets in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) offers a "sizeable" opportunity for investors focusing on the emerging market economies.
The GCC economies are expected to witness sustained economic growth in the near and long term as a result of increased government spending on infrastructure, driven high oil prices, according to Yong Wei Lee, head of Mena equity investments at Emirates NBD Asset Management.
Source: Gulf Times
UAE Economy Minister predicts 3-3.5 per cent GDP growth
May 23, 2011--The UAE's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow between 3 and 3.5 per cent in 2011, the Gulf Arab state's economy minister said on Tuesday.
"We are expecting this year's GDP to range between 3 and 3.5 per cent," Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri told reporters on the sidelines of an investment event.
Source: Emirates 24/7
DGCX Weekly Market Comentary -May 22, 2011
May 22, 2011-- Economic Data Overview
The economic data calendar will be fairly busy over the course of this week. The highlights are expected to be in numbers related to the housing market and consumer confidence. While the second estimate of first quarter GDP is set for release on Thursday and an upward revision is generally forecast.
The second quarter is already well-advanced, however, and markets will be more concerned with more recent numbers. SIFMA has recommended an early close in US bond markets on Friday, so once the morning's economic data is out of the way, the three-day Memorial Day weekend will have essentially begun.
The second estimate of first quarter GDP is set for release Thursday. The preliminary report placed growth at a disappointing 1.8%. However, upward revisions are expected due to higher consumer spending. Nonetheless, the second quarter is almost 2/3 over, and this data will be relatively old and of less immediate importance to markets that some of the other reports during the week.
Personal income and spending for April on Friday should show incomes rose modestly, while spending was a bit higher in part due to non-durables, which includes gasoline prices. The PCE deflator will probably be consistent with another notch up in the rate of inflation. The last monthly indexes for consumer confidence in May are due Tuesday for the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index and Friday for the final reading of the Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. The early May reports suggest that consumers are somewhat more optimistic than they were in April, but that may have deteriorated with the bad news about natural disasters in the Midwest. The report on durable goods orders in April are due Thursday and covers a month in which new orders for aircraft plunged. A steep drop in the transportation component is likely to pull the headline number down. The manufacturing surveys from the Richmond Fed and Kansas City Fed will provide a little more information about conditions in the factory sector in May, adding to the already released numbers from the New York and Philadelphia Fed Districts. Activity is likely to continue to expand at a respectable pace, but
Source: DGCX
Kuwaiti bourse closes on mixed note
May 19, 2011--Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) closed yesterday's session on mixed note. It is the third session in a row that the market indices are seen moving within a narrow range. Investors were seen concentrating on medium and small cap stocks during the session. Global Small Cap Index (Low 10) closed the day up by 2.12 percent.
While heavy weights sectors almost balanced their overall performance as they saw counter directions. The eyes were away from trading monitors and was focusing on the lawmakers fought with fists in Kuwait's parliament yesterday during a heated debate over inmates in the US Guantanamo detention center, amid rising sectarian tension in the Gulf state.
Source: Kuwait Times
Saudi Arabia looks to double GDP by 2025
May 19, 2011--Khaled Al-Qusaibi, Saudi economy minister has said the kingdom is aiming to double its GDP per capita by 2025 and achieve an annual average growth rate in non-oil producing sectors of 7%,
Saudi Gazette has reported. Of non-oil sectors, industry has the highest target of 8.1% growth, while the country's long-term economic strategy aims for 7.4% growth in the services sector, Al-Qusaibi said.
Source: AME Info
Tamweel shares dip on profit booking
May 19, 2011--The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) ended the third week of May with a loss of 0.42% and closed at 1,583.01 points. After rising over 10% during the week, Islamic home financing company Tamweel dipped 0.42%, finishing at Dhs0.937.
Emaar lost 0.94%, finishing at Dhs3.17. The DFM, the only Arab market which is listed publicly, added 0.80% to reach Dhs1.26. Some 178.8m shares valued at Dhs151.6m changed hands.
Source: AME Info
OPEC Monthly Oil Report May 2011
May 18, 2011--Oil Market Highlights
The OPEC Reference Basket rose further in April to average $118.09/b, up $8.25 from the previous month and $35.76 from a year earlier. The continued upward trend was supported by ongoing developments in some MENA countries and improving economic sentiment.
The front month Nymex WTI and ICE Brent contracts averaged $110.04/b and $123.10/b, respectively, which were their highest level since the onset of the financial crisis. However, prices experienced extreme volatility and a sharp correction in the first week of May, dropping by almost $17, as profit-taking triggered a technical sell-off. Since then, prices have rebounded, with the OPEC Basket standing at $111.48/b on 10 May.
The world economic growth forecast for 2011 remains unchanged at 3.9%, although there have been some offsetting revisions. The US economy has shown some slowdown recently and, while it is expected to regain momentum, the forecast has been reduced to 2.6% from 2.9%. Euro-zone growth has been increased to 1.7% from 1.5%, backed by continued expansion in the manufacturing sector and improving domestic demand. Japan’s economy is still forecast to decline by 0.1% following the recent tragic events. Developing Asia is expected to contribute the most to global growth in 2011, with China growing by 9.0% and India by 8.1%. Risks still appear to be skewed downward due to sovereign debt concerns, rising inflation across the globe leading to higher interest rates and potential overheating in developing Asia.
World oil demand is forecast to grow by 1.4 mb/d in 2011, broadly unchanged from the previous report, following an increase of 2.1 mb/d last year. The Japanese earthquake, along with economic uncertainty in the US is keeping oil demand estimates in an adjustment mode and is imposing a downside risk for the year’s forecasts. At the same time, China’s economy is roaring ahead of all expectations, which has implications on the country’s consumption. As a result of the offsetting demand trends, the risks look to be nearly balanced at the present time.
Source: OPEC
Saudi pension body invests $533m in stock market
May 18, 2011--Mohamed al-Kharashi, governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Pension Agency has said the agency has invested SR2bn ($533.3m) in the kingdom's stock market in March, Reuters has reported.
The agency invested in the bank, telecom, pharmaceutical and cement sectors, he said. "We will keep investing. The market is promising," he told the news service. "Our asset management strategy is 47% external and 53% internal. Our investment strategy is open both ways but we focus on maximising internal investments," he said.
Source: AME Info
Dubai market ends three-day loss series
May 18, 2011--The DFM Index gained 0.74% to reach 1,589.73 points.
Shares of Islamic home financier Tamweel were the most liquid stocks, jumping 8.29% to close at Dhs0.94. Emaar added 1.28%, closing at Dhs3.20. Seventeen stocks gained, seven declined and three ended flat
SourceL AME Info
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