Dubai shares rise to 7-week high
Monday, 10 August 2009
DUBAI, Aug. 9 (Bloomberg): Persian Gulf shares gained, with Dubai's index climbing to the highest in seven weeks, as oil held above $70 a barrel and better-than-expected employment figures from the US hinted at a global economic recovery.
Emaar Properties PJSC, the United Arab Emirates's largest developer, soared to the highest since June 24. Agility, the Kuwaiti transport and storage company, gained as much as 3.3 per cent after it opened a container freight station in Dubai.
EFG-Hermes Holding SAE raised its forecast for benchmark Brent crude oil to $60 a barrel for 2009 and $70 a barrel for next year. The DFM General Index added 0.8 per cent to 1,934.75 at 12:48 p.m. in the emirate, the highest since June 22.
"The strengthening in oil price will be extremely positive for the hydrocarbon-dependant GCC countries, which will see high oil revenues," EFG-Hermes, Egypt's largest investment bank, said today in a research report. Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, countries supply about 20 per cent of the world's crude.
Saudi Arabia will post a "small" budget surplus on higher crude revenues, EFG-Hermes forecast, while the U.A.E., Kuwait and Qatar were already expected to see surpluses with oil averaging $50 a barrel. Oil has more than doubled from a December low, closing at $70.93 a barrel in New York on Aug. 7 and boosting regional sentiment.
The pace of US job losses slowed more than forecast last month and the unemployment rate dropped for the first time in more than a year, the clearest signs yet that the worst slump since the Great Depression may be ending, the Labor Department said Aug. 7. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index last week closed above 1,000 for the first time since November.
Abu Dhabi shares gained 0.8 per cent, soaring to its highest since June 15, the Kuwait Stock Exchange rose 0.2 per cent, and Qatar's DSM 20 Index added 1.5 per cent. Muscat's index increased 0.5 per cent.
Emaar Properties advanced 2.9 per cent to 3.23 dirhams. Agility climbed as high as 1,240 fils. The logistics company said the new station would help consolidate and redistribute cargo shipments in the Middle East and Africa.
Saudi Tadawul All Share Index, up 20 per cent this year, declined by 0.3 per cent and Bahrain's measure fell 0.1 per cent.
Emaar Properties PJSC, the United Arab Emirates's largest developer, soared to the highest since June 24. Agility, the Kuwaiti transport and storage company, gained as much as 3.3 per cent after it opened a container freight station in Dubai.
EFG-Hermes Holding SAE raised its forecast for benchmark Brent crude oil to $60 a barrel for 2009 and $70 a barrel for next year. The DFM General Index added 0.8 per cent to 1,934.75 at 12:48 p.m. in the emirate, the highest since June 22.
"The strengthening in oil price will be extremely positive for the hydrocarbon-dependant GCC countries, which will see high oil revenues," EFG-Hermes, Egypt's largest investment bank, said today in a research report. Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, countries supply about 20 per cent of the world's crude.
Saudi Arabia will post a "small" budget surplus on higher crude revenues, EFG-Hermes forecast, while the U.A.E., Kuwait and Qatar were already expected to see surpluses with oil averaging $50 a barrel. Oil has more than doubled from a December low, closing at $70.93 a barrel in New York on Aug. 7 and boosting regional sentiment.
The pace of US job losses slowed more than forecast last month and the unemployment rate dropped for the first time in more than a year, the clearest signs yet that the worst slump since the Great Depression may be ending, the Labor Department said Aug. 7. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index last week closed above 1,000 for the first time since November.
Abu Dhabi shares gained 0.8 per cent, soaring to its highest since June 15, the Kuwait Stock Exchange rose 0.2 per cent, and Qatar's DSM 20 Index added 1.5 per cent. Muscat's index increased 0.5 per cent.
Emaar Properties advanced 2.9 per cent to 3.23 dirhams. Agility climbed as high as 1,240 fils. The logistics company said the new station would help consolidate and redistribute cargo shipments in the Middle East and Africa.
Saudi Tadawul All Share Index, up 20 per cent this year, declined by 0.3 per cent and Bahrain's measure fell 0.1 per cent.