What were the MENA region's best performing stocks in the first quarter - more importantly, which were the worst that burnt investors, including one that fell 99.02% in the quarter?
It has been one tough quarter for the Middle East markets, with virtually none of them managing to get their necks out in positive territory. There were many losers with many companies helplessly watching almost their entire market caps wiped out. But, surprisingly, there were also a few winners.
Below are lists of 25 stocks that gained the most in the first quarter of 2011, and also the worst performing stocks in the quarter, according to Zawya's market analysis tools.
Many of the stocks in the first list trade infrequently, but its interesting to see that a few Egyptian stocks have also managed to make it among the 25 best performing stocks, despite trading for only 18 days in the quarter and in one of the tumultuous times in the country's recent history.
Not surprisingly, Egyptian stocks were also well-represented in the worst performing stocks, with real estate blue-chips Talat Mustafa and Palm Hills Developments suffering in the wake of the uprising in the country. Many investment managers had their eyebrows singed as a result.
"Post revolution, our heavy exposure to the real estate sector (30.0% of MIP weight at inception) imposed a significant drag on performance," noted Pharos Holding in a note to clients.
But there is some hope. Investor sentiment has been buoyed by actions taken both on the domestic, as well as the regional levels. During March, the GCC approved a $20bn economic aid package for Bahrain and Oman, and Saudi Arabia announced a $93-billion economic package to stimulate the economy, create jobs, spur real estate and douse anti-government sentiment.
This was reflected positively on the performance of most GCC markets, which managed to put a stop to the previous month's losses and ended on a higher note, barring, the Kuwaiti & Bahrain markets, which ended the month on a lower note.
"By the end of March 2011, the Saudi market posted the highest monthly advance amongst its peers, up by 10.46% for the month," notes Global in a report to clients. "All sectors of the Saudi market rallied during the month, with heavy-weight petrochemical industries sector being in the lead, which lent a great support to the overall performance of the market."
Equally important, the Egyptian market which had tanked as soon as it opened after 38 suspended sessions saw some improvement, with analysts predicting some stability in the near future.
Here is a list of the best and worst performing stocks, calculated by Zawya.com's market analysis data. 
Perhaps, the next set of charts give a more accurate picture of the best and worst performing stocks that have reasonably healthy trading patterns. Many of these stocks below have trading value of more than a million dollar.
