02/07/2011
Tadawul and Qatari stocks make gains
Saudi and Qatari stocks were the sole gainers in the Middle East last week, while the rest of Arab stock markets lost fresh ground.
Saudi shares received momentum from the sectors of petrochemicals, industrial investment, construction and retail trade, analysts said.
The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) of the Arab world’s largest stock exchange gained 1.96 percent on weekly basis, closing at 6,576 points.
Last week’s gains of 3.35 percent by the petrochemical sector sends a ”positive” message to the market and signals the benchmark crossing of the 6,600- point level, Riyadh-based Saudi analyst Turki Fadaak said.
He attributed last week’s gains by the petrochemical sector to leaks that the petrochemical firms, particularly the Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), would unveil a tangible rise in their profits for the first half of the year.
Fadaak, director of consultancy at Al-Bilad Investments, also predicted that the Greek parliament’s approval of the austerity plan would have a positive impact on the Saudi market.
They believed that the Greek parliament’s approval of the austerity plan, the global market gains and rising oil prices would reflect positively on regional bourses particularly in the Gulf region.
