By Satish Kanady
DOHA: Despite a profit-taking correction, investors are still betting on Qatari stocks. Qatari market should take a positive view going into the new week as Brent sends confident signals that hit the $50 mark over the weekend, coupled with the FTSE’s next month upgrade, market watchers said yesterday.
FTSE’s announcement last week concerning relaxing its liquidity tests for Qatari stocks to be included in its widely tracked FTSE Emerging Markets Index had a strong positive impact on the index. Qatar, by surging 3.3 percent, was the best performer of the week. However, the market opened the week yesterday on a weak note. The QE benchmark index slipped 0.2 percent.
The two main triggers that everyone is eyeing now are the Fed’s upcoming meeting, with views being divided between the urgency to raise interest rates and the preference to wait as long as inflation remains benign. Following this, oil producers are scheduled to meet next month and their output decisions will have an impact on oil prices and consequently all markets indices’ performances especially the MENA markets, analysts at Al Masah Capital said yesterday.
“The outlook for regional markets is forecast to remain positive as long as liquidity levels are above $600m,” Mubasher quoted analysts as saying. GCC stock markets are likely to keep performing positively this week backed by traders’ appetite for building new positions.
Analysts advised investors to quickly speculate on their targeted stocks to cut losses incurred over the past few sessions.
“Oil going up isn’t a new trend, it’s within the trend and expectations,” said Nabil Rantisi, managing director of Abu Dhabi-based Mena Corp. Financial Services, one of the biggest brokerages in the United Arab Emirates to Bloomberg. “There’s no clear direction. It’s holiday season, nobody is in town. The markets simply lack any catalyst, and with no catalyst we’re going nowhere”, he said.
Meanwhile, most Gulf stock markets edged down despite strength in some Saudi Arabian petrochemical shares, while Telecom Egypt boosted Egypt’s bourse slightly, Reuters added. Most stocks were sluggish in the absence of fresh, positive news, and the main Saudi equities index fell 0.2 percent.
Dubai’s stock index fell 0.4 percent to 3,560 points, once again retreating from technical resistance at its April peak of 3,605 points.
Bahrain’s index outperformed the region, rising 0.7 percent, but that was mostly because of a 6.3 percent jump in Arab Banking Corp in very thin trade.
In Egypt, the index rose 0.4 percent as Telecom Egypt surged 3.0 percent.
The Abu Dhabi index edged up 0.02 percent to 4,519 points.
The Peninsula
By Satish Kanady
DOHA: Despite a profit-taking correction, investors are still betting on Qatari stocks. Qatari market should take a positive view going into the new week as Brent sends confident signals that hit the $50 mark over the weekend, coupled with the FTSE’s next month upgrade, market watchers said yesterday.
FTSE’s announcement last week concerning relaxing its liquidity tests for Qatari stocks to be included in its widely tracked FTSE Emerging Markets Index had a strong positive impact on the index. Qatar, by surging 3.3 percent, was the best performer of the week. However, the market opened the week yesterday on a weak note. The QE benchmark index slipped 0.2 percent.
The two main triggers that everyone is eyeing now are the Fed’s upcoming meeting, with views being divided between the urgency to raise interest rates and the preference to wait as long as inflation remains benign. Following this, oil producers are scheduled to meet next month and their output decisions will have an impact on oil prices and consequently all markets indices’ performances especially the MENA markets, analysts at Al Masah Capital said yesterday.
“The outlook for regional markets is forecast to remain positive as long as liquidity levels are above $600m,” Mubasher quoted analysts as saying. GCC stock markets are likely to keep performing positively this week backed by traders’ appetite for building new positions.
Analysts advised investors to quickly speculate on their targeted stocks to cut losses incurred over the past few sessions.
“Oil going up isn’t a new trend, it’s within the trend and expectations,” said Nabil Rantisi, managing director of Abu Dhabi-based Mena Corp. Financial Services, one of the biggest brokerages in the United Arab Emirates to Bloomberg. “There’s no clear direction. It’s holiday season, nobody is in town. The markets simply lack any catalyst, and with no catalyst we’re going nowhere”, he said.
Meanwhile, most Gulf stock markets edged down despite strength in some Saudi Arabian petrochemical shares, while Telecom Egypt boosted Egypt’s bourse slightly, Reuters added. Most stocks were sluggish in the absence of fresh, positive news, and the main Saudi equities index fell 0.2 percent.
Dubai’s stock index fell 0.4 percent to 3,560 points, once again retreating from technical resistance at its April peak of 3,605 points.
Bahrain’s index outperformed the region, rising 0.7 percent, but that was mostly because of a 6.3 percent jump in Arab Banking Corp in very thin trade.
In Egypt, the index rose 0.4 percent as Telecom Egypt surged 3.0 percent.
The Abu Dhabi index edged up 0.02 percent to 4,519 points.
The Peninsula
