Dubai market jumps 3.31%
February 2, 2011--After uncertainty was taken out a bit of the crisis in Egypt with President Mubarak declaring not to run again for elections in September, the DFM Index closed 3.31% higher at 1,594.87 points.
Emaar recovered 5.81% To reach Dhs3.28. Shares of the DFM climbed 5% up, closing at Dhs1.47. Islamic insurance operator Dartakaful was the main loser, ending down 3.26% at Dhs0.86. Some 175.23m shares worth Dhs278.60m changed hands.
Source: AME Info
Energy, real estate shares lift Abu Dhabi market
February 2, 2011-The ADX Index gained 0.96% to reach 2,624.31 points. Aldar Properties, the sheikhdom's first real estate developer, jumped 7.83% to close at Dhs1.79. National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) added half a percent to close at Dhs12.00.
Earlier in the day, NBAD said its subsidiary NBAD-Egypt accounted for around 3.5% of the group assets: 3% of loans and 4% of net income in the year ended 31 December 2010. "The Bank also has cross border exposure on Egyptian entities of some $400m" the statement to the ADX says. Dana Gas surged 6.35% to close at Dhs0.67. National Bank fo Fujairah was the mein loser today, closing down 9.77% at Dhs2.77.
Source: AME Info
Kuwait bourse adds 0.21%, banks recover losses
February 2, 2011--The KSE Market or Price Index closed at 6,819.3 on Wednesday as financials and food firms recovered territory. Dar al Thuraya Real Estate Co.,knwon as Thuraya (Arabic for star), posted the largest gain (up 10.24% to reach KD0.027).
National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) rebounded by 2.86% to reach KD1.440. Yesterday, NBK reported net profits of $1,075m (KD301.7m) for 2010, up 14% compared to the previous year.
Source: AME Info
Qatar Exchange closes even
February 2, 2011--While the insurance sector and industrials gained value in Doha, banks and services declined, leaving the QE Index unchanged at 8,738.70. Commercial Ban of Qatar bucke the trend and closed 2.40% higher at QR85.20.
"All countries of the GCC are expecting to post growth in terms of real GDP for 2010. The average growth of the region is expected to be 4.5% reaching $567bn, with Qatar leading the way at 16.0%", Kuwait's Global Investment House says in its recently published MENA Economic Overview.
Source: AME Info
Saudi Tadawul bourse jumps 2.2%
February 2, 2011--The Riyadh-based TASI composite closed at 6,513.28 points. SABIC shares surged to SR104.75 (up 4.49%). Only five shares declined in the overall bullish market, while 135 gained value and five ended flat. Kuwait-based Global Investment House commented on prospects of oil-driven economies:
"While the oil-driven economies of MENA suffered during the global financial crisis in 2009 due to lower oil prices, the region as a whole was slightly impacted and continued to witness growth and is projected to post 3% real GDP growth in 2010. The MENA region is expected to continue its growth in 2011, backed by higher oil prices and increasing capital inflows from international investors."
Source: AME Info
Record monthly volume gives DGCX a robust start to 2011
Total 244,385 contracts traded in January, the highest ever monthly volume and 59% up on last year
Currency, gold and crude oil futures led the volume growth in January, with 197,511, 39,987 and 5,594 contracts traded respectively
Average Daily Volume was 11,637 contracts in January, up 55% on the previous month
February 2, 2011--The Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) achieved a robust start to 2011, with a record volume of 244,385 contracts, valued at US $ 11.7 billion in the first month of the year.
This is the highest ever monthly volume activity for the exchange since inception in 2005.
January volumes were driven by strong member participation in currency, gold and crude oil futures, recording volumes of 197,511, 39,987 and 5,594 contracts respectively in January.
DGCX Indian Rupee futures continue to shine and achieve record volumes in the New Year with the exchange trading 168,088 contracts in January, a substantial increase of 71% on last month and 23 times more volume than January 2010. Euro/Dollar, GBP/Dollar, Yen/Dollar and Australian/Dollar futures also registered strong trading activity in January, representing the consistent participation and benefits of trading FX futures on DGCX.
Source: Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX)
Kuwait market loses 0.79%
February 1, 2011--The KSE Market Index closed Tuesday at 6,805.2 points.
Banks suffered the highest losses as ivestors are still not clear about the individual lenders' exposure to Egypt. National Bankk of Kuwait dived 2.77% to close at KD1.440. Arkan Al-Kuwait Real Estate was the main gainer, closing 6.89% higer at KD0.062.
Source: AME Info
Tadawul market adds 0.24%
February 1, 2011--The Saudi Arabian composite TASI closed at 6,373.17 points Tuesday as petrochemical and hotel and tourism shares recovered.
Riyadh's bellwether share SABIC closed one percent higher at SR100.25. Mixed industry group Savola ended 0.35% down at SR28.70. S&P Indexes announced today, that Savola shares are part of the newly launched S&P/Hawkamah Pan Arab Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance ESG Index. "S&P/Hawkamah Pan Arab ESG Index Ranks MENA Firms on Nearly 200 ESG Issues Including Carbon Emissions, Water and Energy Consumption, Employee Health and Safety, Community Investment, Charitable Giving, Financial Reporting and Auditing, Board Independence and Executive Remuneration", Ms Banerjee says. Savola was the first listed firm in the GCC which published the monthly salaries of its board members.
Source: AME Info
Standard and Poor's, Hawkamah, IFC launch first ESG index for Middle East and North African equity markets
February 1, 2011--Standard & Poor's, the world's leading index provider, and Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance, announced the launch of the first tradeable index for Middle East and North African (MENA) equity markets that will rank and track the performance, transparency and disclosure of regional companies on Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) issues.
The S&P/Hawkamah Pan Arab ESG Index will include the top 50 MENA companies based on their performance on nearly 200 ESG metrics, when compared to their regional peers. Constituents will be drawn from a universe of the 150 largest and most liquid companies listed on the national stock exchanges of 11 markets: Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. The new index, which complements other ESG indices launched by Standard & Poor's in India and Egypt, was partly funded by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Source: AME Info
Dubai market recovers slightly
February 1, 2011--The DFM Index gained today for the first time after the mini-crash in Sunday by closing 0.61% higher at 1,543.76. Emaar added 1.64% to reach Dhs3.10.
Dhs3.10 was also the closing price achieved by telecom provider Du (up 2.65%), the main gaining share. Du shares are part of today's launched S&P-Hawkamah Pan Arab Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) Index, the first ESG equity index for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The index comprises 50 MENA firms based on their performance on 200 ESG metrics. Aramex shares plummeted 2.94% to close at Dhs1.98. Some 57.31m shares worth Dhs102.99m (down 34% compared to the previous day) changed hands. Fifteen stocks gained, 11 closed down and one remained flat.
Source: AME Info