The Egyptian market recovered in spectacular fashion, gaining more than 10 percent in a week marked by bullish showings on most Arab stock markets, Bakheet Financial Advisors said in their weekly report Saturday.
Egypt's Hermes index, which had lost 43.5 percent since the beginning of the year ended the week up 10.2 percent at 8,341.10, the report said. It was one of seven markets to gain, against five that fell back.
Bakheet reported that the jump on the Egyptian market comes after the announcement by Morgan Stanley Capital International that it had decided to include Egypt in its MSCI index, which should give a boost to investments in the country.
The Palestinian market reacted positively to reports that Middle East peace talks would resume soon, led by active trading of shares in investment firm Padico which rose 5.3 percent, while the overall market climbed 4.4 per cent to close on 256.85 points.
The Saudi bourse, the most heavily capitalized in the Arab world, benefited from the rise in the price of oil, of which the country is the world's biggest exporter. The NCFEI index gained 4.1 percent to close at 2,287.36, just 50 points of its record level set back in April 1992, Bakheet said.
In Tunis gains in blue chip stocks helped the TUNINDEX gain 1.1 per cent to close at 1,447.34.
Kuwait's KSE index and Qatar's CBQ both closed up 0.1 percent, to end respectively at 1,351.30 and 214.28.
Morocco gained 0.4 percent for a close of 697.84.
The biggest loser of the week was Bahrain where the BSE index dropped 3.1 percent to 1,827.67, its lowest level since August 1997, due to a "dull summer season and a liquidity crunch."
The ASE index from the Jordanian bourse was down 2.8 percent at 135.15 on selling pressure.
In Beirut, the BLOM index ended on 582.56 points, shedding 0.4 percent, the same margin as the Omani MSM, which finished on 196.87 points.
The United Arab Emirates fell back 0.3 per cent, its NBAD index ending the week on 2,590.94.
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
