The Palestinian Al-Quds index led Arab stock markets in a positive week ending Friday, surging 8.7 percent over British Prime Minister Tony Blair's statements on Palestinian statehood, Bakheet Financial Advisors (BFA) said Saturday October 20.
The week saw nine out of the 12 Arab bourses monitored by BFA increase and three drop slightly. The Al-Quds index reached 179.27 points and Egypt's Hermes added a healthy 4.6 percent to close on 5,797.97 points on news of an important movement of investors toward the stocks of the media and cement sectors.
The worst performer was the BLOM index of Lebanon which dropped 4.3 percent at 405.12 points on the delay in the long-awaited government privatization schemes, the Riyadh stock specialists said.
Most of the Gulf stock markets performed well last week, led by Saudi Arabia's NCFEI which rebounded strongly to close at 2,381.14 up 3.9 percent on the increase of market leaders SABIC and ARABIC firms.
Kuwait Stock Market (KSE) was up 2.3 percent over the increase in the value of shares of banks as a result of their good profits in the third quarter. Bahrain's BSE index moved up 1.7 percent to close at 1,738.20 points on a cut in interest rates and good third-quarter profits of listed firms.
The NBAD Index of the United Arab Emirates increased 0.7 percent at 2,519.02, the CBQ in Qatar was up 0.4 percent to 256.58 points, while Oman's MSM Index fell 0.2 percent to 164.44. The Amman stock exchange was up one percent at 154.35 points, the TUNINDEX of Tunisia rose 0.5 percent to 1,277.80 while the Moroccan CSE Index was down 1.4 percent to 603.98. — (AFP, Riyadh)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
