They expected speculative activity to dominate regional markets in the coming few weeks with focus on small caps, but said that oil prices over $100 a barrel would help boost stocks in the medium and long terms.
”However, the recent sharp drop in crude oil prices due to the ambiguous performance of US and European economies could have a short-lived negative impact on Middle East markets,” Wajdi Makhamreh, CEO of the Amman-based Noor Investments brokerage, told Arab News.
”We expect speculative trading to have the upper hand in the coming weeks until the emergence of clues to the second quarter earnings,” he said.
Saudi shares were volatile last week mainly due to fluctuations in oil prices and the absence of fresh moving factors.
The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) gained 0.6 percent on weekly basis, to close at 6,722.38 points.
Saudi analysts expected the market to extend gains in the coming weeks toward the 7,000-point psychological barrier.
”I believe speculative trading will dominate the market in the coming couple of weeks until the emergence of information about the second quarter earnings,” Riyadh-based analyst Mohammad Anqari said.
”However, this speculative activity will not last for too long, as a profit-taking move is expected before the market resumes its upward thrust,” he added.
Anqari cited oil prices over 100 dollars a barrel, the huge public spending and the Saudi economy’s growth at a rate between 6 percent and 8 per-cent this year as factors that were set to boost stocks.
The weak performance of the Amman Stock Exchange persisted last week despite positive news about Jordan’s potential accession to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). But Makhamreh contended that Jordan’s joining of the oil-rich pact would have ”positive repercussions” on Jordanian stocks in the medium and long terms.
The ASE all-share index edged lower last week, closing at 2,204 points compared with the earlier week’s close at 2,205 points.
Kuwait’s KSE all-share index shed 0.21 percent on weekly basis, closing at 6,502 points.
The benchmarks of the United Arab Emirates stock exchanges of Dubai and Abu Dhabi also closed 0.65 percent and 0.92 percent in the red, respectively at 1,597 points and 2,673 points.
Qatar’s index gained 3.07 percent last week, closing at 8,711 points.
Bahrain’s closed week down 0.8 percent, at 1,382 points.
Egyptian shares rebounded last week, buoyed mainly by the rise of quarterly profits of the Orascom Construction Industries and the Hermes Holding.
Egypt’s AGX 30 index, measuring the performance of the market’s 30 most active stocks, went up 1.4 percent, closing week at 5,005 points.
The GulfBase GCC index also rose 0.19 percent to 4,009.90 points last week. The value of GCC traded shares surged 23.31 percent to $9.52 billion, while volume increased 17.04 percent to 3.88 billion of shares.
