Gulf States Weekly Market Report

UAE shares edged down on an increased trading value in the week that ended on Thursday. Although the local markets have been heading south for the past few weeks, the year-to-date performance of the index is still positive at 4.95 percent. Trading value inched up 6.5 percent to 81 million dirhams, with the DFM leading activity at 51 million dirhams. The SC UAE Index ended the week at 1,070.61 points, down 0.51 percent as compared to the previous week. National Bank of Dubai led trades in terms of value after recording 33 percent of the total trading activity, while Etisalat was the second most actively traded share at 11.3 percent of the total. Emaar properties was among the week's decliners after shedding 30 fils to 22.7 dirhams, while heavy-weight Etisalat lost 50 fils to 113 dirhams. In the banking sector, National Bank of Dubai lost 40 fils to 90.6 dirhams, while National Bank of Abu Dhabi shed 1.7 dirhams to 80 dirhams.

Kuwaiti shares managed to end the week flat, after going through opposite fluctuations instigated by news regarding the Iraqi-US issue. The SC Kuwait index closed the week at 1,643.9 points, up 0.38 percent as compared to a week earlier. The YTD performance of the index is still in the positive territory at 12.41 percent, although the bourse has been losing ground over the past two months. Trading activity was concentrated in the last day of the trading week, pushing total traded value to 74 million dinars, up from 54 million dinars as compared to a week earlier. As to the individual stocks performances, Blue-chip National Bank of Kuwait added 10 fils to 960 fils, while Kuwait Finance House dropped 20 fils to 1,020 fils. In the telecom sector, Mobile Telecom added 20 fils to 1.88 dinars.

Regional political tensions kept the pressure on the Qatari market, with the index shedding 0.9 percent to 1,732.44 points. Trading volumes climbed to 1.14 million shares valued at 38.68 million riyals, compared with 635 thousand worth 31.7 million riyals in a week earlier. Heavyweight Qatar Telecom ended the week flat at 106 riyals, while Blue-chip Qatar National Bank lost 0.6 percent to 80.4 riyals.

Bahraini shares gained ground in the week ended on Thursday, as the SC Bahrain Index added 0.72 percent to 771.55 points. Batelco, the Bahraini telecom service provider, led the market as market participants are expecting robust first nine months results. The company's shares added 6 fils to close the week at 581 fils. Trading value shed to 1.2 million dinars from 2.056 million dinars in a week earlier. National Bank of Bahrain was also among the gainers adding 5 fils to 562 fils.