AMMAN, 5 March 2005 — Middle East stocks are expected to remain bullish in the coming weeks, drawing “strong boost” from expectations of high Q1 profits, political developments in Iraq and Palestinian territories and surging oil prices, analysts said yesterday.
“I believe all these factors will give markets a strong boost in the coming weeks,” Director of Investments at the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance Saqr Abdul Fattah said in remarks to Arab News.
“We are expecting the kick-off of a large reconstruction process in the Palestinian territories in the wake of the London conference on Palestine and in Iraq, where a new government is about to be installed following Jan. 30 landmark elections,” he added.
The ASE all-share price index gained 2.94 percent in the week ending on Thursday, to close at 5,100 points from 4,954 points last week, according to the market’s weekly report.
Saudi shares also surged for the fifth week in a row, driven by gains of the petrochemical-related stocks. The Tadawul All Shares Index (TASI) of the largest Arab bourse, gained 2.9 percent, closing week at an all-time high of 9,124.77 points.
According to the Bakheet Financial Advisors, the Saudi index was 11.2 percent higher than that of the year’s start.
The trading volume was dominated by the Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), and the country’s major telecommunications firms, Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) and Ettihad Etisalat.
Kuwait’s KSE all-shares index also rose 2.2 percent in a trimmed trading week, as the market was closed on Saturday and Sunday for the National Day festivities.
The Kuwaiti index closed week at 6,781.8 points compared with last week’s close at 6,632.6 points, buoyed by mounting demand for shares of services and investment firms, dealers said.
Egypt’s Hermes index went up 1.2 percent, closing at 36,078.33 points, propelled by shares of textile, telecom and tourism firms.
