27/11/2010
Arab stocks volatile on Europe debt woes, Korea crisis
Arab stock markets faltered last week, coming under negative pressure from the Irish debt concerns and the exchange of fire between the two Koreans, financial analysts said Friday.
The decline was led by Saudi shares, reflecting concerns that the military developments between the two Korean states could affect Saudi Arabia's oil exports to the region.
"The petrochemical sector appeared as the key loser due to fears that the military duels between North Korea and South Korea could have a prolonged effect on Gulf crude exports to the Far East," .
Saudi stocks plunged last week on losses incurred by the petrochemical and banking sectors, mainly the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC).
The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) of the Arab world's largest stock exchanges shed 2.36 percent on weekly basis, closing at 6,291.30 points.
Jordanian shares were volatile due to "absence of confidence" and weak foreign buying, Makhamreh said.
Kuwait's KSE all-share index lost 0.32 percent last week, led by the investment and real estate sectors, analysts said.
The United Arab Emirates shares were mixed last week. The benchmark of the Dubai stock exchange shed 0.2 percent, closing at 1,682 points, whereas the Dubai bourse gained 0.29 percent, with weekly close at 2,757 points.
Egypt's AGX 30 index, measuring the performance of the market's 30 most active stocks, gained 0.2 percent on weekly basis, to close at 6,838 points, spurred by foreign buying, analysts said.
