Sunday, Sep 16, 2012


 
Saudi SE              7165.86               +0.86% 
Dubai FM              1573.94               +0.16% 
Abu Dhabi SM          2608.75               +0.25% 
Kuwait SE             5792.71               -0.72% 
Doha SM               8563.19               -0.09% 
Muscat SM             5589.47               +0.47% 
Bahrain SE            1071.45               -0.07% 
Cairo SE              5662.15               -1.11% 
Amman                 1907.19               -0.19% 
 
ICE Brent $/bbl        116.66               +0.67% 
Gold $/troy oz        1772.70               +0.05% 
Euro-USD                 1.31                0.00% 
DJIA                 13593.37               +0.40%

By Nikhil Lohade

Of ZAWYA DOW JONES

DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Stock markets in the Persian Gulf are seen higher Sunday as investors track a global risk rally after the U.S. Federal Reserve unveiled a bond buying plan late last week to boost the world's largest economy.

While many investors had expected the Fed to act, the open-ended nature of the stimulus program surprised positively, traders say.

The Fed announced that it will purchase $40 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities a month, while at the same time extending Operation Twist--a stimulus effort to keep interest rates down. Its policy setting committee also said that it could do more to help the economy if the labor market fails to improve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% Friday, its fourth-straight daily gain helping it hit another multi-year closing high.

In the region, there is likely to be some caution after demonstrations sparked by an anti-Muslim video that started in Egypt last week spread across parts of Africa and the Middle East.

Oil prices rose to a four-month high Friday, briefly topping $100 a barrel, buoyed by the Fed's latest plan--which sent the dollar sliding against other major currencies for a second straight session, boosting the price of dollar-denominated commodities such as crude oil. Nymex October crude futures settled 69 cents higher at $99 a barrel, its highest finish since May 4.

U.A.E.: Dubai shares finished up 0.2% at 1573.94 Thursday; service sector firms led the gains.

Negotiations between creditors of Amlak Finance and a special government committee overseeing its restructuring are ongoing and the entire process will hopefully be finalized by the end of the year, the U.A.E. economy minister said. Amlak shares remain suspended from trading since late 2008.

Abu Dhabi's market closed +0.3% at 2608.75 Thursday; propped up by investment sector and telco stocks.

Etisalat has raised $510 million by selling shares in PT XL Axiata TBK, Indonesia's third-largest telephone company, according to a term sheet seen by Dow Jones Newswires on Thursday.

SAUDI ARABIA: The Gulf's largest market closed +0.9% at 7165.86 Saturday; buoyed by the global stocks and oil rally, but some caution remains.

"The market is not fully reflecting the boom that happened in Western markets," said Natheer Al Mahdi, head of local mutual funds at Riyad Bank, adding that "there is a lot of fear about instability, political, social, tensions about Iran, Yemen, Egypt, Libya and so on, their effect is that investors or speculators are not encouraged to push the market higher."

Allied Cooperative Insurance Group, or ACIG, started Saturday subscription for a rights issue to double its capital to SAR200 million, from SAR100 million. The provider of Islamic non-life insurance services said earlier this month that subscription in the SAR100 million rights offer will run to Sept. 22.

KUWAIT: The benchmark index ended 0.7% lower at 5792.71 Thursday; financial stocks topped the losers list.

QATAR: Doha's market ended -0.1% at 8563.19 Thursday; telcos and industry stocks weighed.

Qatar National Bank has received approval from Egypt's central bank to start due diligence on Societe Generale SA's Cairo unit, ahead of a possible majority stake sale to the Doha-based lender.

BAHRAIN: The main gauge of stocks closed down 0.1% at 1071.45 Thursday; undermined by the industry sector.

OMAN: Muscat's market ended 0.5% higher at 5589.47 Thursday; led by industry stocks.

EGYPT: The benchmark EGX 30 Index closed -1.1% at 5662.15 Thursday; the market is still up some 56% for the year.

Ezz Steel shares closed +7.3% at EGP11.35 Thursday after the company said it made a first-quarter net profit of EGP18 million, compared with a loss of EGP10 million a year earlier, on higher volumes.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE GULF: The decision by three international banks to take the unprecedented step of launching an arbitration case against Dubai Group is likely to cause further delays in reaching agreement on a complex $10 billion debt restructuring, according to lawyers and bankers involved in the talks.

Turkey will provide a $2 billion aid package to help Egypt to finance infrastructure projects and increase its dwindling foreign-currency reserves, Egypt's ministry of finance said in a statement Saturday.

Qatar's annual inflation rate was up at 2.3% in August, compared with 2.2% in July, led by a rise in almost all of the major groups including food, beverages and furniture, official data showed Thursday.

Real-estate developer Nakheel has awarded a AED105 million contract to Dutch company Van Oord International to carry out beach profiling work on Dubai's man-made Palm Jumeirah island.

-Write to Nikhil Lohade at nikhil.lohade@dowjones.com

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

16-09-12 0412GMT