The region's two largest stock markets by market capitalization got off to rather contradictory starts to 2003.
Saudi shares finished the first two days of the year with the Tadawul All-Shares Index up 1.4% to 2,553.64 points. Strong oil prices and improved budget figures led the market higher, although war fears still leave the index 12.7% off its all-time high reached in May 20 last year.
In the UAE investors are more sanguine. The Emnex index has lost 36 points in the past fortnight and closed last week at 2,179.84 points.
Interestingly, while shares in the Saudi American bank helped to propel the Saudi bourse upwards, financial stocks were the biggest losers in the UAE. Mashreqbank and Emirates Bank International both lost ground, as did Emaar Properties.
However, brokers said the general air of optimism in regional bourses - with oil prices high and interest rates low - left them confident that the UAE would soon join Saudi on the upside rather than moving further to the downside.
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Saudi positive, UAE negative
- Saturday, January 04 - 2003 at 14:01
The New Year began with investor confidence heading in opposite directions in the region's two largest bourses.
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Peter J. CooperSaturday, January 04 - 2003 at 14:01 UAE local time (GMT+4)
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