AMMAN, 11 December 2004 — Arab stock markets are expected to “move sideways” in the coming couple of weeks as investors await fresh information to build up new positions in the wake of this week’s plunge, financial experts said yesterday.

“I believe markets will be mixed next week, with prices moving sideways as investors prefer to take a wait-and-see approach following this week’s corrections,” Wajdi Makhamreh, head of brokerage at the Jordan Investment and Finance Bank, told Arab News.

“Investors will be awaiting new information to build up new positions, which are expected to be based more on fundamentals rather than speculative moves,” he said.

Makhamreh spoke against the backdrop of plunges at both the Jordanian and Saudi stock markets. “Such corrections were justified as prices of some stocks have reached exaggerated levels,” he said. He expected the conduction of elections in both Iraq and Palestine to have a “positive impact” on Middle East bourses.

“We in Jordan stand to gain more than others from such developments, as the country is successfully marketing itself as a gateway for Iraq’s reconstruction,” he said.

The Amman Stock Exchange’s all-share price index fell 3.37 percent this week, which witnessed deep fluctuations starting with a strong slippage of 6.43 percent in the first two days of trading.

The ASE index closed week on Thursday at 4,061 points, down from 4,202 points last week, according to the market’s weekly report.

Saudi stocks also retreated sharply this week, with the all-share price index of the Arab world’s largest bourse shedding 5.7 percent, apparently in response to falling oil prices on the world market. The benchmark price closed at 7,693.97 points, compared with last week’s close at 8,158.82 points.

In Kuwait, the KSE price index gained 1.4 percent this week, closing at 6,477.5 points, up from 6,385.1 points last week.

Kuwaiti shares moved up and down throughout the week reflecting “nervousness” on the part of investors as the year draws to an end, dealers said.

Egyptian shares also dipped this week in a profit taking move that pushed the Hermes index down 0.57 percent to a closing level of 22,846 points.