Qatar record as upward trend continues

By Abdul Rahman Ismail

For the second consecutive day, the Doha Securities Market (DSM) continued its upward trend, rising 1.4% - the same rate as Sunday. It approached a new record high of 12,500 points, while Kuwait too retained its upward index, rising 0.13% and crossing 15,300 points.

Dubai Investments pushes DFM; ADX down

The continuous rise of Dubai Investments on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) pushed the market up, as it attracted strong trading for the second day running.

Dubai Investments dominated 47.3% of the Dhs1.1bn trading, rising by 0.70%. So far, Dubai Investments has said nothing to explain the rise in its shares, but analysts believe it is down to speculators, following the launch of its IPO to increase its capital, and the expectation of second quarter profits.

The decline in Etisalat's share pushed the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) down as the company's stock declined by 0.72%. It added pressure on the index, despite an improvement in the real estate sector.

Ras Al Khaimah Cement's shares were subject to strong dealings in terms of value and volume, but that did not stop its price dropping by 0.53%. Arkan came to the forefront during trading, with a market leading rise of 1.8%.

Qatar hits record high

In Qatar, the DSM maintained its rocketing rise, hitting a record high that approached 12,500 points. It was supported mainly by 10 leading shares, which dominated 34.8% of the total 45.1 million shares traded in the market, valued at QR2.6bn, the highest in the history of the market.

Barwa Real Estate led the rise, which also included 25 other shares, rising by 8.3%. Gulf International traded 9.3 million shares, but closed down 6.9%.

Telco Qtel dropped 2.5%, despite increasing its stake in Indosat, the second largest telecom company in Indonesia, to 40.8%. However he deal has generated a dispute which the company says will be solved in its favour.

Kuwait hits new record

The banking sector negatively hit the Kuwait Stock Exchange, suffering still from the Central Bank of Kuwait's decision to put restrictions on personal loans.

But the real estate and industrial sectors pushed the index to a record high, trading KD233m or 515.5 million shares.

Agility shares rose 1.6%, the market reacting positively to news that it has signed a $7.6m deal with the US Air Force. For the second consecutive day, Al Masalekh rose by 8.1%, although no reason was given for its healthy showing.

Bahrain and Tadawul up

Shares in Gulf Finance House rose 1.6%, trading 17.6 million shares, making it the fifth most active share, which helped the Bahrain stock market rise 0.50%.

GFH registered its highest rise, up 4.5%, but the Bahrain market saw low trading of only 2.7 million shares, valued at BD2m, compared to 18 million traded shares worth BD6.4m on Sunday.

On the Tadawul, Sabic rose for second consecutive day, up 2.7%. It helped push the Saudi market up by 0.41%, valued at SR12.5bn, including SR4.6bn for Al Inmaa Bank, which declined by 1.3%, Al Majel which rose by 6.6% and Sabic.

According to brokers, big investors and speculators have started to liquefy their portfolios of the newly listed Al Inmaa Bank, after making big gains, and started moving to leading shares like Sabic, which is expected to post high second quarter profits.

Banks posted mixed results, with slight rises for Samba, Al Rajhi, Arab National Bank and SABB, while Al Bilad and Al Riyadh Bank both declined by 1.2% and 2% respectively. The latter was hit after a negative report by Credit Suisse advising traders not to keep high ratios of its share, determining its price at SR38 instead of SR51.

Oman market declines

Leading shares on the Oman stock market declined after its strong results last week. This included Omantel, which fell 0.39%, despite topping trading in terms of value at OR1.3m out of the OR16.3m traded general.

Building Material Industries and Al Batena for Investment went against the market, both rising 6.6%. Building Material Industries traded 5.9 million shares and Al Batena 4.7 million.