Sunday, Oct 07, 2012


 
Saudi SE           6887.97      +0.01% 
Dubai FM           1627.35      +0.25% 
Abu Dhabi SM       2649.94      -0.13% 
Kuwait SE          5995.28      +0.25% 
Doha SM            8478.35      -0.30% 
Muscat SM          5646.36      +0.52% 
Bahrain SE         1077.74      +0.08% 
Cairo SE           5726.12      +1.24% 
Amman              1897.08      -0.04% 
ICE Brent $/bbl     112.02      -0.50% 
Gold $/troy oz     1780.80      -1.21% 
Euro-USD              1.30      -0.02% 
DJIA              13610.15      +0.26% 
 
 
   By Brinda Darasha 
   Of ZAWYA DOW JONES

DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Gulf markets are likely to trade cautiously early Sunday as concerns over the health of the global economy continue to cloud the outlook for regional investors who are now looking to third quarter earnings season to provide some cheer.

Sentiment isn't overly positive because of global economic turbulence and "the whole [Saudi] market is volatile as it is following the global oil price," said Alhassan Goussous, CEO of Bakheet Investment Group.

Crude-oil futures fell 2% Friday, ending a week of big price swings, as the threat of gasoline-supply problems and refinery shutdowns raised new concerns about oil demand. Light, sweet crude for November delivery has rebounded slightly since and is now trading 10 cents higher at $89.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Meanwhile, U.S. stocks on Friday ended the week mixed as most indexes closed lower after initial enthusiasm over a surprise drop in the country's unemployment rate faded and concerns about Europe's debt problems returned center stage. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 34.79 points, or 0.3%, to 13610.15, capping its first weekly advance in three weeks, although the benchmark pared gains of as much as 87 points earlier in the session.

U.A.E.: Dubai's market Thursday ended +0.3% at 1627.35 as financial and property stocks advanced.

DFM Co. was +2% at AED1.03 and Deyaar Development was +1.9% at AED0.37.

Emaar Properties also finished higher, extending gains from Wednesday and closing +0.8% at AED3.69.

Abu Dhabi shares closed -0.1% at 2649.94 Thursday. Investment and industrial stocks paced the decliners.

Aldar Properties shares ended -0.8% at AED1.32. The company had gained 7.2% up until Wednesday after the company along with Sorouh Real Estate said Monday that discussions regarding a possible merger between the two are at an advanced stage.

First Gulf Bank's recent $650 million, five-year bond sale was more than four times subscribed as investors placed orders worth $2.7 billion, the company said Thursday. Its shares closed flat at AED10 Thursday.

SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi's Tadawul Index closed Saturday flat at 6887.97 after a choppy session.

"The market is just churning and is not going anywhere," until the third quarter company earnings are disclosed, said Alhassan Goussous, CEO of Bakheet Investment Group. Even then it will continue to be nervy and co-related to global oil prices, "unless we see extremely higher 3Q earnings than the market is expecting," he added.

Kingdom Holding Co., or KHC, Saturday said its fully-owned unit Kingdom Hotel Investments, or KHI, has signed a contract to sell its stakes in two hotels in the Philippines for a combined value of SAR218 million. Its shares closed -0.7% at SAR14.65.

Emaar the Economic City, or Emaar EC, the developer of King Abdullah Economic City project, said it has signed a SAR91 million contract with the local Al Harbi Contracting for infrastructure works in the city. Emaar EC shares closed -1.1% at SAR8.80 Saturday.

Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Co., a Saudi owner and operator of supermarket chains, Saturday said its new board has re-elected Abdullah Al Othaim as chairman.

KUWAIT: The Kuwait stock exchange ended 0.3% higher at 5995.28 Thursday.

Gulf Petroleum Investment Co. or GPI, Thursday said its board has decided to raise its capital by KWD10 million.

QATAR: Qatar's QE Index closed -0.3% at 8478.35 Thursday.

Qatar Islamic Bank shares closed -0.1% at QAR76.80. The country's largest Sharia-compliant lender by market value, has priced at par a $750 million, five-year Islamic bond, or sukuk, carrying a profit rate of 2.5%, according to a bank lead arranging the issue.

BAHRAIN: The main gauge of stocks closed Thursday +0.1% at 1077.74.

OMAN: Muscat's market closed +0.5% at 5646.36 Thursday.

EGYPT: The Egyptian index of shares EGX 30 closed +1.2% at 5726.12 Thursday.

Orascom Construction Industries was +5% at EGP293.97 while Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding, or OTMT, was +3.9% at EGP0.54.

Mutual-fund giant Vanguard Group's decision to switch benchmarks for some of its funds to indexes operated by FTSE Group is definitely good news for Egypt, said Abu Dhabi-based Invest AD fund manager Sherif Salem.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE GULF: Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said Saturday that there are no pre-conditions for Egypt to meet to continue talks with the fund, from whom the ailing African country hopes to secure a $4.8 billion loan before year-end.

In a move aimed at boosting confidence in Kuwait's economy, the country's central bank cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points, the first such monetary policy action in over two years.

Mubadala Development, an Abu Dhabi government-owned strategic investment vehicle, returned to a profit in the first half of this year thanks to higher revenues at some of its units and lower impairment losses.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde openly hinted in an interview published Thursday that the global lender would like Saudi Arabia to continue to pump more oil to hold down prices.

"It is a crucial time for the world economy in which we need stability rather than turbulence," Ms. Lagarde told the Dubai-based channel Al Arabiya.

Falcon Private Bank, a Swiss firm owned by Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments, has agreed to acquire Clariden Leu, a London-based wealth management subsidiary of Credit Suisse that has clients in emerging markets including Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the companies said Thursday.

National Bank of Fujairah will replace Barclays PLC on the 12-lender panel that sets benchmark interbank interest rates in the country, according to the state news agency on Thursday.

Write to Brinda Darasha at brinda.darasha@dowjones.com

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-10-12 0445GMT