14/06/2010 00:00 AST
Most Middle Eastern bourses rose on Sunday, buoyed by international markets, but the rebound may be short-lived in the absence of major positive catalysts, traders said.
Qatar and Dubai were the strongest regional performers, each bourse gaining nearly 1 percent, as overall trading volumes exceeded last week’s levels, while Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were the only markets to fall.
“Global markets and oil prices upsurge on weekend led today’s rally. But we believe this is a short-term rebound and the market still needs more triggers for sustainable recovery,” said Osama Ibrahim Al-Qinna, head of brokerage division at Oman Arab Bank.
Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse said in a statement it was upbeat about the wider region’s market prospects although concerns over sovereign debt could worry investors.
“Our strategic view on equities is that we see positive business and earnings cycles emerging as the dominant influence on markets this year, although this will be periodically interrupted by concerns over country indebtedness,” said Bassam Yammine, co-CEO of Credit Suisse in the MENA region and Head of Investment Banking & Asset Management.
In Qatar, the index hit its highest level since May 24. “Qatar is the epitome of energy rich GCC nations, with a large appetite for real estate investment, fuelled by the rapid growth in oil and gas revenues over recent years,” Jones Lang LaSalle said in a report on Sunday.
“With a relatively small domestic real estate market, much of this interest is being directed towards real estate markets overseas, making Qatar an increasingly important player in terms of global real estate capital flows,” it added.
Dubai’s index rose 0.9 percent led by real estate stocks. Emirates NBD fell 0.4 percent after ratings agency Moody’s downgraded the local and foreign currency debt and deposit ratings of the bank. In Kuwait, Agility shed 6 percent after paying out its dividend.
Egypt’s Orascom Telecom fell another 0.5 percent and dominated trade by turnover. Last week, the stock fell 5.3 percent after talks with South Africa’s MTN Group collapsed.
A newspaper, however, said the firm is still negotiating the sale of some of its African assets, reviving hopes for a possible deal after the failed talks with MTN.
Heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) fell 4.3 percent, which traders attributed to profit taking.
SABIC gained 5.1 percent on Saturday.
“After recent gains people like to take some profits,” said Saleh al-Onazi, vice-president of principal investment at Swicorp in Riyadh.
“Still we are in an optimistic mood about the Q2 results,” he added.
Egypt
- The index gained 0.9 percent to 6,301 points.
Dubai
- The index edged 0.9 percent higher to 1,528 points.
Kuwait
- The benchmark rose 0.03 percent to 6,642 points.
Abu Dhabi
- The measure gained 0.6 percent to 2,534 points.
Qatar
- The index climbed 1 percent to 6,920 points.
Oman
- The measure rose 0.3 percent to 6,141 points.
Saudi Arabia
- The kingdom’s index eased 0.3 percent to 6,263 points.
Bahrain
- The benchmark fell 0.2 percent to 1,399 points.
Reuters
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