These gains helped Saudi Arabia's index rise for a second
day as Middle East markets remained lackluster, dogged by low trading volumes
and doubts about the world economy. The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) edged
higher by 0.26 percent to close at 6,106.75 points. The sector activity for the
day was mostly positive with 12 out of 15 sectors ending with gains ranging
from 0.20 percent by the Industrial Investment sector to 2.39 percent by the
Energy & Utilities sector. On the other hand the losses were seen in 3
sectors namely Banks & Financial Services sector, Insurance sector and
Cement sector with respective losses of 0.11 percent, 0.30 percent and 0.36
percent. The overall market breadth for the day was positive with 72 advancers
against 44 decliners giving it an AD ratio of 1.63, the Financial Transaction
House (FTH) said in its daily market commentary.
"Domestic liquidity continues to be on the sidelines
waiting for more visibility on the global scene," said Rami Sidani, Schroders
Middle East head of investment. "There isn't enough risk appetite for
international fund managers to go beyond the MSCI emerging markets index and
invest in Gulf markets."
SEC climbed 2.6 percent to SR13.85, its largest gain
since July 24.
Saudi Cable Co. rose 3.96 percent to SR14.45 and Middle
East Specialized Cables Co. gained 1.7 percent to SR18.05.
"Saudi Electricity's move sparked a rally in
infrastructure stocks," said a Riyadh trader who asked not to be
identified.
Egypt's index climbed 1.6 percent to 6,486 points, its
largest gain for seven weeks.
Orascom Telecom (OT) rose 4.1 percent on talk that
Chairman Naguib Sawiris might sell some assets to telecoms group Vimpelcom,
while EFG-Hermes rose 2.7 percent, extending gains since it bought a $542
million majority stake in Credit Libanais.
Kuwait's index fell for a first session in three as
investors booked profits in some banks. The index dropped 0.2 percent to 6,675
points.
Most lenders' shares had risen since Thursday after
reports the government had given the go-ahead for banks to finance a 30 billion
dinar ($104.2 billion) state development plan.
Commercial Bank fell 2.2 percent and Ahli United Bank
dipped 1.9 percent.
"Some banks are now trading at three times
price-to-book ratio and are beginning to look overvalued," said a Kuwait
trader who asked not to be identified.
Dubai's benchmark climbed 0.6 percent to 1,500 points,
its highest finish for two weeks, although volumes were lackluster.
The Abu Dhabi index climbed 0.2 percent to 2,509 points.
"I think we might see some movement before the end
of this week," said Samer Al-Jaouni, general manager of Middle East
Financial Brokerage Co. "Global markets fell on Thursday and Friday, yet
we didn't see any reaction regionally yesterday, which is a positive
sign."
Qatar's benchmark rose 0.3 percent to 7,199 points - a
three-month high. "Qatar is picking up in terms of volume and value, with
appetite from foreign investors increasing, especially for the blue chip
industrials and banks," added Jaouni.
Qatar and Egypt are the only benchmarks that are up this
year, but others may rally in the fourth quarter, said Sidani, when a large
portion of state spending occurs.
"Governments usually start the year cautiously as
they wait to see what the average oil price for the year is likely to be,"
Sidani added. "We're now approaching the end of 2010 and oil prices are
stable, which will give comfort to governments to increase spending."
The Omani index edged up 0.03 percent to 6,310 points.
The Bahrain index rose 0.7 percent to 1,419 points.
- With input from agencies
