AME Info, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Finance and Economy Briefs

By AME Info, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Oct. 26--SAUDI STOCKS RISE: Saudi Arabia's Tadawul index rose by 0.55 percent to 6,563, with all sectors moving upward, led by transport which rose 1.93 percent. Overall, 93 stocks finished higher, while 24 ended lower. Alinma Bank, the day's most heavily traded stock, gained 1.44 percent to close on 14.05 riyals.

DFM SEES STRONG GAINS: The Dubai Financial Market on Monday gained 3.31 percent to close on 2,338. Market heavyweight Emaar was one of the day's big gainers, rising 4.50 percent to Dhs4.88. Other heavily traded stocks included the Dubai Financial Market, up 6.43 percent to Dhs2.65, and Arabtec, which rose 4.39 percent to Dhs3.57.

ADX RISES AGAIN: The Abu Dhabi Securities Index on Monday gained 0.65 percent to close on 3,167. The index was led by the real estate sector, which rose 1.86 percent. Overall, 25 stocks gained, eight declined, and nine remained unchanged.

INVESTOR CONFIDENCE RISES IN GULF: Investor confidence rose in all six countries of the GCC in October, according to Dubai-based Shuaa Capital. The bank's GCC Investor Confidence Index increased to 132.2 points in October, up 3.8 percent from 127.3 in September, rising for a third consecutive month. Saudi Arabia and the UAE had the largest gains on the index, climbing 11.7 percent to 154.9 points and 9.2 percent to 130.4 respectively. Qatar rose 7.4 points to 143.1, Kuwait climbed 4 points to 102.5, Oman rose 2.9 points to 118.1 and Bahrain fell 0.9 points to 106.9 points. Any score over 100 points indicates positive investor confidence. Investor sentiment in the Gulf continued to strengthen in October, with all six countries recording positive levels of confidence as the outlook for the region's economies improves, Shuaa Capital said on Monday. The Dubai-based investment bank said its GCC Investor Confidence Index rose to 132.2 points in October, up 3.8 percent from 127.3 in September, increasing for its third consecutive month. Saudi Arabia and the UAE witnessed the biggest gains on the index, jumping 11.7 percent to 154.9 points and 9.2 percent to 130.4 respectively.

EGYPT TO MULL $1.8BN STIMULUS PACKAGE: A new stimulus package worth 10 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.8bn) will be proposed at a conference of the ruling National Democratic Party at the end of this month, a government official told Reuters. 'The government will raise an additional 10 billion pounds to be spent on infrastructure projects such as road building and water treatment to create jobs,' an official with the Ministry of Economic Development told the news service.

EGYPT PLANS CORE INFLATION INDEX: Egypt's central bank has said it will introduce a core inflation index, a measure that usually strips out potentially volatile items, such as food and energy, Reuters has reported. The index aims to help make forecasts in the country, which has sought to bring down price rises that peaked at more than 20 percent in 2008. 'The core inflation index is a very important tool that sheds lights on reasons inflation rates went up,' according to Rania al-Mashat, head of monetary policy division at the central bank.

DUBAI PLANS $6.5BN NOTE PROGRAM: The Dubai government has set up a $6.5bn program to sell medium-term notes as it launches its first international bond sale since June 2008, Bloomberg has reported. The offering is separate from a $10bn fund-raising program, which is part of a $20bn support fund that the Dubai government set has up for state-related companies. The sale of Islamic bonds and those that don't comply with Muslim banking rules may take place as soon as next week.

WEEKLY FX ROUNDUP: EURO STRENGTH CONTINUES: Pressure on the Greenback continued last week, with the US Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against the Euro, Swiss Franc, Yen, Sterling, Swedish Krona, and Canadian Dollar, falling below 75 levels on October 21, its lowest point since August 2008. This was mainly due to the positive Q3 earnings reported by US companies, where more than 80 percent of corporate results continued to defy earnings expectations.

Hussein Sayed serves as Senior Financial Analyst with ACM, based in Dubai. He is responsible for providing daily market analysis reports covering the fundamental and technical outlook of the currency and commodity markets. Advanced Currency Markets (ACM) is a leader in Online Currency Trading (www.ac-markets.com), with its global headquarters based in Geneva, and a presence in the Middle East, as well as in North and South America.

TADAWUL DIPS ON MIXED TRADING: Saudi Arabia's Tadawul index fell by 0.62 percent to 6,527.53, with the majority of sectors moving downwards and only Retail, Transport and Hotels keeping their positive sentiment. Eighty-four stocks fell, with only 33 rising. Walaa insurance posted the highest gains, moving up by 9.94 percent to SR34.30.

ADX MAKES MODEST GAINS: The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange ended the day up by 0.89 percent to 3,147.44 after slow gains throughout trading. Seventeen stocks rose, nine fell and eight held steady. ADCB was the highest riser, making modest gains of 4.21 percent to Dhs2.28. The real estate sector kept the market busy, with Aldar and Sorouh being the most actively traded stocks by value.

DFM BEGINS WEEK WITH MILD GAINS: The Dubai Financial Market has closed up by 0.85 percent to 2,263.10. Twelve companies rose, 13 fell and five held steady. Emaar was once again the most active stock by volume and value, ending the day up 1.03 percent at Dhs4.67. Emirates NBD was the highest gainer, closing 4.94 percent up at Dhs4.25.

ABU DHABI INFLATION FALLS: According to the Statistics Centre-Abu Dhabi, the emirate's inflation rate had dropped to 1.17 percent in the first nine months of this year, from 14.88 percent in the same period last year, Khaleej Times has reported. The steep decline is one of the positive impacts of the global financial crisis on the economy of the emirate, the centre said.

AFHC OPENS SECOND OFFICE: Al Futtaim HC Securities (AFHC), a partnership between Al-Futtaim Group and HC Securities and Investment, has announced that it will open its second office today in the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) headquarters as part of its expansion plans. 'Our new branch represents the beginning of a broader program to expand our presence within the UAE's financial markets,' Hassan Choucri, AFHC's general manager said.

SHUAA SECURITIES TO LAUNCH ONLINE TRADING PLATFORM: Shuaa Securities, the brokerage division of Shuaa Capital, has announced that it will launch an advanced online investor trading platform to enable investors to trade and monitor shares on regional stock markets. The bilingual trading platform features online trading, voice recognition trading, advanced research portal and voice recognition price inquiry. In addition to the UAE stock markets, the firm is in the process of enabling trading in other regional equity markets to this portal including Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

MORGAN STANLEY SEES SAUDI GROWTH IN 2010: Morgan Stanley has said in a report, it is expecting Saudi Arabia's total output to grow by 3.6 percent in 2010 and 4.7 percent in 2011. In the report, 'Saudi Arabia Economics: Unlocking the Kingdom's Potential', the country's real output is seen to recover in 2010, brought by higher oil production levels; stronger domestic demand on the back of the government's expansionary fiscal and monetary stance; and a gradual resumption of credit growth. The report has mentioned rising unemployment levels as a challenge to growth as Saudi Arabia possesses a young population, with close to 48 percent of Saudi nationals under the age of 20.

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