Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
Oil prices 'fantastic', says Kuwait
January 14, 2010--Kuwait's oil minister has described the price of crude oil as 'fantastic', as freezing temperatures pushed it above $82 a barrel, AFP has reported.
Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Sabah also said he expected demand to pick up in the second quarter of 2010, as the global economy is expected to continue its recovery and as crude inventories decline.
Source: Arab News Online
Fitch: Saudi ratings affirmed at AA-
January 14, 2010--Saudi Arabia's Long-term local and foreign currency Issuer Default ratings (IDRs) have been affirmed by Fitch Ratings at 'AA-', both with 'Stable' outlooks. The kingdom's Country Ceiling and Short-term foreign currency IDR were also affirmed at 'AA' and 'F1+', respectively.
"The financing flexibility offered by the government's balance sheet - built up by saving past oil revenues - has enabled it to forge ahead with spending plans without raising borrowing," Fitch said.
Source: Arab News Online
GCC business confidence falls in Q4
January 14, 2010--HSBC Bank Middle East has said that confidence levels of the business community in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have increased, while the UAE, Oman and Bahrain have shown a decline in the fourth quarter of 2009.
The lender's quarterly Gulf Business Confidence Index for Saudi Arabia and Kuwait rose to 91.6 and 84.6, from to 91.5 and 83.1, respectively.
Source: AME Info
DFM slips slightly at end of week's trading
January 14, 2010--The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) fell 0.29% to 1,707.37 today, with 13 stocks rising, eight falling and eight holding steady. Gulf Finance House made the biggest gains of the day, moving up 13.33% to Dhs1.19.
Arabtec was the most traded stock by value and by volume, but ended the day down slightly by 0.82% to Dhs2.41.
Source: AME Info
ADX slips down 0.24%
January 14, 2010-The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) fell 0.24% to 2,707.20 on its last day of trading of the week, with 12 stocks rising, 11 falling and nine remaining unchanged.
Commercial Bank International (CBI) was the day's biggest gainer, going up by 9.92% to Dhs1.44.
Source: AME Info
Foreign investors purchase Dhs990.5m worth of shares on DFM during last week, sold Dhs1.214bn
January 14, 2010-Dubai Financial Market announced today that the value of shares bought by foreign investors, or non-UAE nationals, during last week (10 - 14 January) reached Dhs990.5m comprising 43.7% of the total value of stocks traded during the period.
The value of stocks sold by foreign investors during the same period reached Dhs1.214bn comprising 53.6% of the total value of stocks traded during the period. Net foreign investment on the market reached Dhs233.3m during the same period, as aggregate sell.
Source: AME Info
Nasdaq Dubai equities trading volumes rose 30% in 2009
January 13, 2009--Equities trading volumes on Nasdaq Dubai rose by 30% in 2009 to 3.10 billion shares, up from 2.39 billion in 2008. Volumes for the month of December 2009 reached 410 million shares, the second highest monthly total of the year.
This was a 170% increase over the November 2009 figure of 152 million; it was also 170% higher than the December 2008 figure, which also reached 152 million.
Source: AME Info
Indian Rupee futures start year on a high note
Record open interest of 807 lots in the DGCX Indian Rupee futures contract
Total volume of Indian Rupee futures rose 530% in 2009 to 66,346 contracts
January 13, 2010--Demonstrating increased demand for its Indian Rupee futures contract, the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange today said that Open Interest in the contract stood at a record 807 lots as at close of business on Tuesday January 12th.
The Open Interest, contracts which roll over to the next trading session, reflects the build up of hedging participation and ongoing momentum in the product. The trend is also supported by the rise in annual volumes of DGCX Indian Rupee/Dollar futures.
“The record Open Interest and sustained volume sets the tone for the product's growth this year,” said Eric Hasham, Chief Executive Officer of DGCX.
“The Indian Rupee contract is an important driver of the Exchange's currency portfolio, having gained favour with many market participants. The changes to the contract in 2008, based on member feedback, led the contract to a new level of growth. The contract is now cash settled based on the US Dollar reference rate published by the Reserve Bank of India, providing transparency and facilitating settlement for all participants. We anticipate further interest in the contract, backed by participants' better understanding of its benefits and India's strong economic prospects,” he added.
Total Indian Rupee futures volume rose 530% in 2009 to 66,346 contracts. Volume in December 2009 was 346% higher compared with the same period last year. The DGCX Indian Rupee/Dollar futures contract is the only contract of its kind outside of India and thus available to international participants. The contract is available for trading from 8.30am to 11.30pm Dubai time, Monday through to Friday.
Source: DGCX
SSE Cyclical, Non-Cyclical Indices to be Launched on Feb. 3
January 12, 2010--The SSE Cyclical Industry 50 Index (SSE Cyclical, with the code of "000063") and the SSE non-Cyclical Industry 100 Index (SSE non-Cyclical, with the code of "000064") will be officially launched on February 3, 2010 as benchmarks for the trends of stocks in different industries to offer investors new investment targets, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and China Securities Index Co., Ltd. (CSI) announced recently. The base days of the above two new indices are both December 31, 2003, with the base points of both 1,000.
According to the published index compilation schemes, both SSE Cyclical and non-Cyclical constituents are selected from that of SSE Large & Mid & Small Cap Index. Constituents of SSE Cyclical are made up of 50 stocks with large market capitalization and sufficient liquidity in five industries with strong cyclical features, namely finance and insurance, mining, transportation and storage, metal and non-metal and real estate, while constituents of SSE non-Cyclical consist of 100 stocks with large market capitalization and sufficient liquidity in the remaining 17 industries subject to the industry classification of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
Statistics show that by January 11, 2010, the market capitalizations of SSE Cyclical and non-Cyclical had been RMB10,630.7 billion and RMB2,798.3 billion, or 58.87% and 15.50% of that of A shares on the SSE, respectively, with the free float adjusted market capitalizations of RMB2,465.6 billion and RMB1,234.0 billion, accounting for 41.81% and 20.92% of that of A shares on the SSE, respectively.
Following the adjustment to the constituents of the SSE Large & Mid & Small Cap Index, the SSE Cyclical and non-Cyclical indices undergo biannual regular adjustments, with the time for the adjustments on the first trading days in January and July each year. Special adjustments will also be made under special circumstances. For compilation methods and detailed materials of the SSE Cyclical and non-Cyclical indices, please refer to the websites of the SSE and CSI.
It is learnt that some fund companies have committed themselves to the development of ETF products of the SSE Cyclical and non-Cyclical indices.
As of January 11, 2010, the SSE Cyclical and non-Cyclical indices had closed at 2,947 and 2,409 points, respectively.
Source:Shanghai Stock Exchange
Al Sorayai plans to boost exports to Europe to increase their share in European Union market
January 12, 2010--Manufacturing industries across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia intend to increase their exports to Europe in order to meet the growing demand for high quality Saudi products across the European Union (EU) market.
This move will help maintain the Kingdom's status as one of the EU's top 15 international trading partners. The country is especially monitoring Europe's construction industry, the region's biggest sectoral employer and one of its major sources of gross capital. The European construction sector is expected to achieve market stability within 2010 and open up various opportunities in related businesses such as flooring and carpeting.
Source: AME Info
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