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Dubai market rebounds by 1%
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) rose above 2,180 points in the opening but failed to sustain its advances. The DFM Index eventually closed 1.01% higher at 2,162.20 points. Banks led today's market advances. Investment bank Shuaa Capital posted the largest advance (up 5.15%), closing at Dhs2.04. Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) followed with a profit of 4.80% (ending at Dhs3.93). Emirates NBD, the largest lender in the Middle East in relation to assets, failed to jump on the bandwagon and lost 0.23%, finishing at Dhs4.35.
Iraq's inflation up 2.9% in August
Iraq's Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology has reported a 2.9% rise in the country's inflation rate during August 2009, Aswat al-Iraq news agency has reported. The inflation index rose as a result of an increase in the standard prices of foodstuffs by 12.3%, fabrics, garments and shoes by 0.03% and medical services and pharmaceuticals by 0.03%, COSIT has said.
UAE could see negative growth in '09, says al-Suwaidi
Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi, the UAE's Central Bank Governor, told reporters yesterday that the country may see negative growth this year. 'It could be slightly negative or it could be slightly positive,' he said. 'If there is going to be any growth it will be very small.'
Nasdaq Dubai ends mixed
Shares of Dubai Ports (DP) World lost 3.05%, closing at $0.54 with some 11.47m shares changing hands. Jewellery trader Damas ended 1.98% higher at $0.36. Depa Ltd. lost insignificantly (down 0.13%) and finished at $0.78.
Tadawul market bucks GCC downtrend
Contrary to the other GCC exchanges, the Saudi Arabian Tadawul market gained 0.79%, closing at 6,227.07 points, thanks to a a revival of the insurance sector (up 3.22%). Al Ahli Insurance Co. posted the largest advance, jumping 10% higher (at SR66). Market bellwether and petrochemical giant Sabic hit an 11-month high by finishing 1.50% higher at SR80.25.
Kuwaiti stocks follow GCC trend
The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) could not buck the general negative trend in the region and closed 0.71% lower at 7,841.5 points. The Kuwaiti food sector (off 1.98%) posted the largest decline. Al-Ahleia Holding Co. resisted against the downtrend, ending 8.77% higher at KD0.062.
Real estates weigh on Qatar Exchange
The Qatar Exchange was pulled down by 0.96%, ending at 7,436.74 points due to weak performing real estate shares. United Development Company (UDC), the sector's bellwether and builder of the prestigious island The Pearl Qatar, closed 2.43% lower at QR40.40. Banks mostly declined in value as well. Doha Bank, which rose to an 11-month high last Thursday, dipped 1.70% on profit booking. Al-Ahli Bank bucked the trend by advancing 2.09%, finishing at QR44.00. Bank of America Securities-Merrill Lynch says in its latest report that Qatari banks 'have emerged relatively unscathed from the regional downturn.The sector offers an attractive combination of discounted valuation (9.3x 2010E Price-Earning Ratio), robust profitability (2.7% Retorn on Assets, 19% Return on Equity) and decent growth prospects (12% 2009-12E EPS CAGR).'
UAE to see low inflation in 2009, says al-Suwaidi
The UAE will see 'low inflation' this year and any deflation will not depress the economy, the country's Central Bank Governor Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi said today. He told a news conference that deflation 'is an external development but it does not impact the economy here the way it does somewhere else'. Consumer prices rose 0.3% in July from a year earlier, after falling 0.03% in June, the economy ministry said on August 27. Inflation across Gulf Cooperation Council states has eased after exceeding 10 percent in five of the six member countries last summer. Oil prices are 55 percent down from their high of $147.27 a barrel in July last year.
Abu Dhabi bourse closes 1.11% lower
The Abu Dhabi securities exchange ADX followed the general negative trend in the GCC. Its General Index closed at 3,089.01 points (off 1.11%). As in Dubai, real estate stocks got beaten in the UAE capital. Market bellwether Aldar Properties declined by 2.38%, closing at Dhs5.72. RAK Cement Company gained 1.45% and finished at Dhs1.37.
Bahraini economy to rise 3% in '09, says official
Bahrain's economy will grow 3% this year, the country central bank governor, Rasheed al-Maraj, said today. 'Even 3% is a decent number in terms of the global environment,' he told Bloomberg. The Central Bank of Bahrain cut its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Sept 15.
Dubai market declines by 2.57%
The Dubai bourse DFM lost 2.57%, closing at 2,140.53 points. The real estate sector (off 3.53%) was the big loser on Monday, with its bellwether Emaar Porperties dipping again below Dhs4 (down 3.70% at Dhs3.90). No sector gained territory. Only Ekttitab (up 2.41% at Dhs0.85) and Al Salam Sudan (1.03% higher at Dhs2.93) resisted the negative sentiment, triggered by bad input from the East Asian markets and profit booking.
Kuwait not eyeing return to US dollar peg
Kuwait's central bank governor has said that he does not see any benefit in linking the country's currency back to the US dollar. 'We do not see a need or benefit in this stage, that could be achieved from giving up the current policy of linking the Kuwaiti dinar to a basket of currencies,' Sheikh Salem Abdul-Aziz al-Sabah was quoted as saying by Kuwait's daily Awan.
Investment Dar to freeze claims
Kuwait's Investment Dar, which is in the midst of restructuring debt, has said it has signed an agreement with creditors and investors to freeze claims temporarily, Reuters has reported. 'The consenting banks and investors will, for the duration of the standstill agreement, suspend individual claims relating to investment arrangements entered into with the company,' the firm has said in a statement. The standstill agreement is expected to run until the end of 2009, the steering committee said in a separate statement, adding it will have completed Dar's financial restructuring by then.
Kuwait's inflation rate to dip below 5%, says CBK
The Central Bank of Kuwait has predicted that the inflation rate for the last months of 2009 will maintain its decline to fall below 5%, KUNA has reported. CBK Governor Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah said the inflation rate had dropped to 5.9% in February of 2009, while it was at 11.6% in August of 2008.
Nasdaq Dubai sees lacklustre trading
DP World, the world's fourth largest port operator, closed 1.27% higher at $0.557. DEPA Ltd. was the only other stock that was traded, but the interior designer remained flat at $0.781. Some 7.23m shares changed hands at the Nasdaq Dubai.
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