Region's stock markets rebound 4.9 per cent in February

15 March 2010

Kuwait Stock Exchange is top performer in the Middle East and North Africa

The Middle East and North African (Mena) equity markets rebounded by almost 4.9 per cent in February last month following a flat performance in January.

The top performer was the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange index, which surged 5 per cent compared to its previous flat performance in January, bringing year-to-date (YTD) gains to 5.3 per cent, according to a report by Dubai-based Rasmala Investment Bank.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Doha Securities Market rebounded in February to record a gain of 4.8 per cent, making it the second best performer on a month-to-date (MTD) basis. Earnings announcements and Qatar Telecom’s (Q-Tel) latest news update of potential investments in Iraq and Algeria contributed to this growth.

Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, the Tadawul, was up 3 per cent by the end of February, bringing its YTD gains to 5.2 per cent, with the majority of stocks ending the month in positive territory.

Oman’s Muscat Securities Market index ended February with gains of 2.4 per cent, bringing YTD gains to 5 per cent.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange also picked up pace, following a statement from Dubai World regarding the possibility of offering its creditors 60 cents on the US dollar guaranteed by the government, as part of a deal to repay $22bn of debt.

The DFM gained a modest 0.2 per cent and the ADI rose by 2.7 per cent on a MTD basis following the Dubai World update, in addition to earnings releases from several blue chips.

However, Tunisia and Egypt’s markets posted a weaker monthly performance compared to January, with the Tunis Stock Exchange incurring a 0.1 per cent loss, while the Egyptian Exchange fell 1.8 per cent.

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