07/03/2011
Region’s bourses lose $140bn in five weeks
TASI rose 0.92 percent to 5,762.5 points
Political unrest in the region has eroded $140 billion in market capitalization from stock markets in the Middle East and North Africa over the past five weeks.
The market capitalization of 16 Arab bourses was valued at $862 billion on March 4, compared with $1.002 trillion on Jan. 25, a day prior to the political crisis in Egypt that triggered unrest across the Middle East, Reuters quoted a report from the Arab Monetary Fund on Sunday.
Arab stock markets gained about 9 percent in 2010 with their market capitalization touching $983.8 billion, the report from the Abu Dhabi-based fund said.
Gulf Arab markets, however, rose on Sunday, with the Dubai and Kuwait benchmarks pulling away from six-year lows to track gains a day earlier on Saudi Arabia bourse, the region's largest.
The Kingdom Tadawul All-Share Index rose 0.92 percent to 5,762.5 points after surging 7.3 percent on Saturday. The Saudi stock market turnover reached SR5.60 billion on Sunday, the Financial Transaction House said in its daily market report.
Dubai's index made its largest gain in four weeks, rising 2.7 percent to 1,389 points. Kuwait’s index rose for a first session in four to close 0.7 percent higher at 6,190 points.
Abu Dhabi's index gained 1.1 percent to 2,558 points. The Omani index climbed 0.8 percent to 6,404 points. Bahrain's index surged 1.3 percent to 1,396 points
