31/01/2010 00:00 AST
Arab stock markets extended losses this week under the impact of falls in global markets and declining oil prices, financial analysts said Friday.
However, they expected the 2009 results of listed firms to remain a market-moving factor for the region in weeks to come.
'The psychological correlation between Middle East bourses and global markets is surfacing again as one of the factors to reckon with,' an Amman-based portfolio manager told the German Press Agency dpa.
The Wall Street and other global bourses suffered this week as a result of US President Barack Obama's announcement of measures to limit the size of banks and financial firms and to impose restrictions on risky transactions, he said.
'His remarks in the State of the Union address apparently cast doubt on the world recovery and put downward pressure on crude prices with fallout on Gulf stock markets,' he added.
Saudi shares lost fresh ground this week with additional pressure coming from China's restrictions on bank loans, which renewed concerns over receding demand for crude oil by the world's second largest economy.
The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) of the Saudi stock exchange shed 2% this week, crashing the 6,300-point psychological barrier and closing at 6,252.71 points.
TASI is currently 2.1% higher than the year's start, according to the weekly report of the Riyadh-based Bakheet Investment Group (BIG).
'The Saudi market was negatively affected by developments of the US economic policies,' the report said.
The group expected the Saudi market to rebound next week and 'to recoup its losses'.
Tasi declined 0.5% today to 6,221.16 points. The Saudi market is the only regional market to open on Saturdays.
Jordanian shares were volatile this week due to what analysts described as lack of incentives and shrinking liquidity.
The all-share index of the Amman Stock Exchange lost 0.87% this week, closing at 2,531 points, according to the ASE weekly report.
Kuwait's KSE all-share price index shed 0.4% this week, closing at 7,035 points with pressure coming from the banking sector, according to analysts.
The UAE shares continued to come under pressure from foreign selling and the spill-overs of the Dubai World debt issue, analysts said.
The benchmark of the Dubai exchange plummeted 3.2% this week, to close at 1,599 points. Abu Dhabi's index closed lower at 2,628 points from 2,637 points last week.
Qatar's DSM measure gained 1.37% on Thursday to 6,591.98 points.
The Bahrain BSE index was down 0.17% on Thursday to 1471.98, while Oman's MSM was little changed at 6511.91.
Egypt's AGX30 index, measuring the performance of the market's 30 most active stocks, lost 2.5% during the week to close at 6,696 points.
The Beirut Stock Exchange (LSE) closed Friday at 1,531.42 points, down 0.32% on the day.
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index gained 27% and Egypt’s EGX30 Index rose 35% in 2009. Dubai Financial Market General Index rose 10%.
Business Intelligence
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