Gulf market stocks see moderate gains, shake off the red

28/03/2011 00:00 AST

The gulf stocks market managed to shake off the red and come back into green after weeks of negative performance, on the backdrop of the wave of protests and violence in several Arab countries, a specialized report said on Sunday.

The Bayan Investment report said all gulf markets ended last week trade in green, but showed varied levels of improvement. The saving points were strong purchasing power and positive speculation inspired by the drop in stock prices to a very appealing level.

Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) was the smallest gainer, however, and finished the week after fluctuating performance dominated by buying and speculation. Buying was mainly in the banking sector, and real estate and investment also saw clear appeal. Profit-taking was also strong, which humbled gains of the main indices.

The report said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) markets made gains amid dominant buying transactions by foreign investors, and the action was mainly on blue-chips.

Profit-takings were seen in some trading sessions, but were not enough to cause losses. The Dubai market in particular was under the influence of news of debt rescheduling.

The Saudi market was the second gainer with a strong buying trend following the recent royal decrees announcing many reforms and developments that would affect the masses.

Muscat meanwhile saw a hike pushed by strong purchasing power among local as well as foreign investors with focus on banking blue-chips.

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Al Watan