The summer vacations and the approaching holy month of Ramdan, tentatively set to start on August 1, have also contributed to the slump of regional bourses, they added.
”I believe Arab markets, particularly in the Gulf area, continue to suffer from the Greek and Italian debt debacle, concerns over the world economic recovery and the ongoing Arab revolts,” Wajdi Makhamreh, CEO of the Amman-based Noor Investments brokerage, told Arab News.
He, however, expected regional stocks to make benefit in the medium and long terms from the semi-annual earnings, high oil prices and the huge public spending in GCC countries.
Saudi shares were volatile last week as investors evaluated the second quarter earnings declared so far.
The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) of the Arab world’s largest stock exchange shed 1.6 percent on weekly basis to close at 6,508.80 points.
”I believe the market is in a wait-and-see mood where investors watch the release of the half-year results of all listed firms,” Saudi analyst Mohammad Anqari said.
Other analysts said that the Saudi market awaited the publications of the second quarter profits of blue chips, particularly the Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC).
Anqari singled out the Saudi banking sector as one of the key attracting areas that were expected to lure both local and foreign investors in the coming months due to its success in getting rid of allocations for toxic loans.
He conceded that Saudi stocks might come under fresh pressure from global markets and world recovery problems, but believed the high oil prices and the huge Saudi public spending would push the benchmark to higher levels.
Kuwait’s KSE all-share index lost 0.7 percent last week, to close at 6,169 points.
According to a report by Kuwait’s Global Investment House, the Kuwaiti stock exchange recorded its deepest half-year loss in 13 years in the first six months of 2011, when its capitalization contracted by 16.54 billion dollars.
The United Arab Emirates stocks reflected mixed performance last week.
The benchmark of the Dubai foreign exchange shed 0.64 percent, while Abu Dhabi’s all-share index gained 0.39 percent, to close respectively at 1,548 points and 2,725 points.
Qatar’s all-share index also closed week 0.22 percent in the red, at 8,484 points.
Jordanian shares continued their bad performance last week due to lack of incentives and the persistent liquidity crunch.
The all-share index of the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) fell 0.57 percent, closing week at 2,090 points.
Egyptian stocks plunged last week due to the showdown between demonstrators and both the government and the ruling military council over the delay in getting rid of the symbols of the former regime of toppled President Hosny Mubarak, analysts said.
The AGX 30 index, which measures the performance of the market’s 30 most active stocks, plummeted 4.9 percent on weekly basis, closing at 5,097 points.
