The lull in market trading extended last week into a general lack of interest in GCC stock markets.
The Kuwait Stock Exchange was, as usual, the liveliest regional bourse with the main index up one per cent to 2,287.1 points despite a three-day trading week. Brokers pointed to a more relaxed view of the possibility of a war in Iraq and high liquidity.
It was not quite the same story in Saudi Arabia where the Tadawul All-Shares Index closed down 0.3 per cent at 2,427.67 points, almost back to the level it opened at in January though 17 per cent lower than its all-time high reached on May 20 this year.
In the UAE Shuaa Capital's bulletin expressed optimism that the last two weeks of the year would bring out some dividend hunters. Gulf stocks traditionally pay out generous dividends to anyone who owns them at the end of the year - the snag being that the share price tends to decline shortly after the dividend is announced.
Even the Dubai Financial Market's most traded stock, Emaar Properties, was almost unchanged on the week. Investors are apparently divided over the outlook for Emaar shares, with some still troubled by the boom and bust in the latter's share price in 1998.
It seems that investors will need to see real estate profits before they believe in it.
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GCC stocks lack direction
- Sunday, December 15 - 2002 at 09:52
Real estate developments and not shares have become the focus of investment interest in the region. Yet surely this sentiment should at least be reflected in real estate stocks, but it is not.
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Peter J. CooperSunday, December 15 - 2002 at 09:52 UAE local time (GMT+4)
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