Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
Egypt's bourse may be excluded from emerging markets index
February 28, 2011--Sebastien Lieblich, vice president of index research and management at MSCI, has said that Egypt's stock exchange, which has been closed since January 28, could be excluded from the emerging markets index when the index provider reviews its status in four weeks, Reuters has reported.
The possible exclusion from the index would take place only if the stock market does not reopen before MSCI begins to consider a decision, he said. If Egypt is excluded from the emerging market MSCI indexes, the firm will continue to calculate it but would not be part of the investment opportunities of a portfolio manager that tracks the EM index, he said.
Source: AME Info
Egyptian Exchange to start trading tomorrow (1 Mar)
February 28, 2011--The Egyptian Exchange (www.egyptse.com) is set to reopen tomorrow (1 March) after it closed on 27 Jan. in the popular uprising that saw President Hosni Mubarak resign on 11 Feb. It was due to open earlier, but delayed because strikes were devastating the banks on which it relies for clearing and settlement. Some selling is anticipated.
An announcement by Egypt’s Cabinet yesterday (27 Feb.) confirmed the opening and also that Ziad Bahaa El-Din, chairman of Egypt’s Financial Supervisory Authority, resigned yesterday. On 19 Feb. the FSA had announced that new trading rules will be in place to prevent exchange volatility. Daily share price movement will be limited to 1%, trading sessions are cut from 4 to 3 hours, and the cash reserve requirement for brokerages is cut from 10% to 5% of their capital.
According to a report on Bloomberg, market participants expect selling pressure. Walaa Hazem, who helps manage $1 billion in Egyptian equities and fixed income as vice president for asset management at HC Securities & Investment in Cairo, is quoted as saying: “The market should have opened much earlier. Locking people’s money is something very bad. This will put selling pressure on the market, in addition to the regional turmoil and the economic slowdown.”
Source: African Capital Markets
Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange Weekly View-February 27, 2011
February 27, 2011--Economic Data Overview
The coming week will be busy, but two events will define the calendar. First, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke will deliver his semi-annual monetary policy testimony before the Senate on Tuesday and the House on Wednesday. Second, the February data on employment will be released on Friday. The common thread will be conditions in the labour market, upon which the outlook for monetary policy depends, and to a large extent the health and speed of the economic recovery.
There is a packed data calendar elsewhere, although the employment report on Friday will dominate market interest. Gains in payrolls will probably be modest, with private payrolls rising and government jobs falling at the state and local level. However, it is what will happen with the unemployment rate that is the biggest question mark. The rate dropped four-tenths in December to 9.4%, and then another four-tenths in January to 9.0%. It is unlikely to do so again in February, and may move up a notch. However, anything near the 9.0% rate is an improvement and should it inch lower, will be another step in the right direction.
The ADP National Employment Report for February on Wednesday will be watched for clues as to the direction of payrolls, but has had a couple of large misses in the last months. The Challenger Report on Wednesday will also be watched along with initial jobless claims on Thursday. The ISM indexes for manufacturing and non-manufacturing in February are due Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. Regional data from the Fed District Banks and Purchasing Managers associations indicate that activity has been solid in the factory sector. The Dallas Fed's Texas Manufacturing Survey for February is due on Monday, while the Chicago Purchasing Managers Business Barometer is due on Monday.
The data on January factory orders on Friday will be lost behind the employment report earlier in the morning. Automakers will report sales of domestically produced motor vehicles on Tuesday. Routine monetary policy announcements are due from the Reserve Bank of Australia Monday, Bank of Canada Tuesday, and ECB Thursday. Worries about gains in food and energy prices are beginning to manifest in the economic data, and just at a time when raising rates to cut off too-high inflation could curtail a sluggish recovery.
Source: Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange
Saudi king unveils $36bn in benefits
February 24, 2011--.Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah yesterday unveiled a series of benefits for citizens estimated to be worth an estimated SR135bn ($36bn) as protests spread across the Middle East. The measures include a 15% salary rise for public employees to offset inflation, reprieves for imprisoned debtors, and financial aid for students and the unemployed.
The fund also provides interest-free loans to Saudis who want to build homes, get married or start small businesses. The announcement of the relief measures coincided with King Abdullah's return to the country after three months following medical treatment.
Source: AME INFO
Dubai bourse falls 1.30%
February 24, 2011--The DFM General Index could not sustain the rebound from Wednesday and finished the week again at the six-month low 1,479.61 (off 1.30%).
Gulf General Investment Co. known as GGICO, posted the largest decline, closing at DHs0.39 (down 9.30%). Logistics provider Aramex surged 3.16% to reach Dhs1.63. Emaar was the most liquid share, finishing 1.35% lower at Dhs2.92. Some 54.1m shares worth Dhs76.68m.
Source: AME Info
Energy shares support Abu Dhabi market
February 24, 2011--The ADX General Index closed 0.20% higher at 2,613.50 on Thursday. Energy heavyweights Taqa (up 4.38% at Dhs1.44) and Dana Gas (gaining 1.61% at Dhs0.61) supported the second straight advancing day in Abu Dhabi.
The real estate sector still showed no sign of a recovery as bellwether Aldar Propeties ended down 4.38% at Dhs1.51). Shares of Abu Dhabi Ship Building Co. (ADSB) plummeted by 9.86% to close at Dhs2.56. Earlier in the day, ADSB announced that it signed an MoU with Egypt-based DeBirs Yachts in order to "to explore collaboration opportunities in high-growth luxury yachts and boats segment."
Source: AME Info
Qatar Exchange gains on financial shares
February 24, 2011--The Doha-based QE Index closed on Thursday 0.20% higher at 8,211.27, as the insurance segment saw significant advances.
Qatar Insurance was one of the top geiners, closing up 4.92% at QR61.90. Shares of Islamic Insurance, on the other hand, dived 6.44%, ending at QR39.25.
Source: AME Info
Kuwait market adds 0.22% as real estate firms soar
February 24, 2011--The KSE Market Index ended 0.22% higher to reach 6,481.1 as rising oil prices support the market sentiment. Kuwait's federal budget is based 90% on oil revenues.
Union Real Estate (up 7.2% at KW0.118) posted the second largest gain. The country's largest lender National Bank of Kuwait closed flat at KD1.400.
Source: AME Info
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: Revisions To Tel Div-20 Index Rules And Enhancement To Tel-Div Index
February 23, 2011--At its 17 February 2011 meeting, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) Board of Directors approved revisions to Tel Div-20 index methodology. Under the current rules, the index includes the 20 companies with the highest dividend yields. The primary objective of the revisions, which entail an expansion of the index’s constituent base, is to improve the representativeness of the index, which will now include major actively traded companies with a consistent, but comparatively modest, dividend policy.
By broadening the index, TASE also seeks to stabilize constituency changes and mitigate price fluctuations that occurred following index review and update dates.
Since its launch in July 2006, the Div-20 index has steadily gained popularity and currently serves as the underlying asset for 6 ETNs with a combined market cap approaching NIS 1 billion (appx. US $275 million).
The key changes can be summarized as follows:
1. The number of constituent companies will not be limited and the index will include all shares meeting threshold criteria.
2. The index will include shares, which distributed dividends of at least 2% in 2 of the previous 3 years. (This will enable companies with a stable long-term dividend policy to be included in the index even if in a year of economic crisis dividends were not distributed).
Source: Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE)
Dubai market rebounds 1.33%
February 23, 2011--After more than week of declining amid civil unrest in Bahrain and North Africa, the DFM General Index followed the positive GCC trend and finished 1.33% higher at 1,499.04 points.
Emaar Properties added 1.37% to reach Dhs2.96. Logistics provider Aramex surged 4.64% to close at Dhs1.58. Earlier in the day, Aramex announced the acquisition of Ireland-headquartered liner agent and freight forwarder Aquaship Agencies. Telecom provider Du dipped 0.33%, closing at Dhs3.05. At the NASDAQ Dubai, port operator DP World recovered 4.75% on high trading volumes, reaching 52.9 US-Cent. Trading volumes and values at the DFM weakened by a third as some 88.07m stocks worth Dhs123.85m changed hands.
Source: AME Info
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