The Palestinian index surged following a Palestinian-Israeli truce deal while Egypt's dived during a mixed week for Arab stock markets, Bakheet Financial Advisors (BFA) reported Saturday, September 29.
The Al-Quds (Jerusalem) index, which felt the pinch of the Palestinian intifada over the past year, climbed by 10 percent, ending the week at 163.42 points, BFA said. It attributed the surge to "Israel's cessation of military operations against the Palestinians" following a meeting Wednesday between Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
Lebanon's BLOM index was also up 6.1 percent, closing at 420.65 points thanks to a bullish Solidere, the company rebuilding Beirut's city center, and news of a possible repatriation of Arab capital following the September 11 terror attacks in the US.
Tunisia's TUNINDEX was up 2.8 percent at 1,275 points, uncertainty among investors following the anti-US attacks having somewhat eased, BFA said. The United Arab Emirates' NBAD index was also slightly up (0.1 percent), closing at 2,508.06 points.
Other Arab bourses plunged, the worst performer being Egypt's Hermes Financial Index, which dipped 8.6 percent, closing at 5,619.25 points, "amid the prevailing fears of war," BFA said.
Saudi Arabia's NCFEI all-shares index, the most capitalized in the Arab world, plunged by 5.6 percent, closing on 2,278.75 points to the backdrop of the world economic slowdown and its anticipated consequences on demand for oil, of which Saudi Arabia is the biggest producer.
Other Gulf stock markets performed weakly for the same reason, said BFA, with Kuwait's KSE index slipping by 4.4 percent to close at 1,611 points, Bahrain's BSE index shedding 4.5 percent to close at 1,675.34 points, and Oman's MSM index down by 2.4 percent at 166.62 points.
Morocco's CSE index was down 1.2 percent at 616.42 points, and Jordan's ASE index dropped 0.3 percent to close on 150.32 points. Qatar's CBQ index closed at 251.57 points, unchanged from last week. ― (AFP, Riyadh)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
