AMMAN, 5 February 2005 — Arab stock markets are expected to remain steady in the coming couple of weeks, deriving momentum from strong 2004 blue chip profits and a possible improvement in regional geopolitics as a result this week’s historical parliamentary elections in Iraq and the Sharm Al-Sheikh summit next Tuesday, analysts said yesterday.
“I believe regional markets will remain steady in the coming couple of weeks encouraged by strong performance of blue chip firms in 2004,” said Rajaa Kudaimat, director of Financial Markets at the ABC Investment Co. affiliated with the Arab Banking Corporation.
“Therefore, I think stock markets will keep up the upward trend next week, but prices are inclined to go down afterwards until the end of March, when investors start to monitor the Q1 profits of this year,” she said. Kudaimat pointed out that any progress resulting from the Iraqi polls or the Sharm Al-Sheikh summit “will inevitably reflect positively on regional stocks”.
The meeting, scheduled to group the leaders of Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Palestine, is expected to try work out an official cease-fire in the Palestinian territories in the run-up for the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The all-share price index of the Amman Stock Exchange finished week on Thursday up 0.46 percent, at 4,866 points, compared with 4,844 points, according to the ASE weekly report.
The index approached the 5,000-point psychological barrier in the middle of the week, buoyed by the strong Arab Bank share, but retreated in the last two days as investors resorted to profit taking, dealers said. Similar fluctuations were also reported at the Saudi stock exchange, the Arab world’s largest bourse, which resumed trading at the start of the week with “strong surge” after closing for 10 days to mark the Haj season, according to the Bakheet Financial Advisors.