Gulf stocks extended gains this week, buoyed by annual earnings, Greece's bailout deal and the improving performance of the US economy, financial analysts said Friday. Regional gainers were led by the bourses of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Saudi shares surged for the second week in a row, led by the banking, petrochemical and retail sectors. Saudi stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) jumped 2 percent on weekly basis, closing at a 21-month high of 6,797.09 points. The rally was attributed by Saudi analysts to economic, financial and psychological factors that helped to direct liquidity to the stock market over the past weeks. "These factors helped to prop up confidence and the buying appetite among investors," said Abdullah Baeshen, CEO of the Riyadh-based TeamOne consultancy firm. "I believe fresh liquidity is entering the stock market in search of higher returns in view of the very low interest rates currently ruling in the world's major economies," he added. Kuwaiti stocks were volatile this week as investors sought to evaluate the outcome of last week's early polls that brought an Islamic majority to the country's National Assembly. Kuwait's KSE all-share index inched higher closing week at 5,864 points compared with last week's close at 5,856 points. United Arab Emirates stocks reflected mixed performance this week, apparently due to foreign buying that focused on shares drawn on the Dubai bourse. Dubai's benchmark gained 3.55 per cent on a weekly basis, closing at 1,487 points, while Abu Dhabi's index closed 0.4 percent in the red at 2,467 points. Qatar's index gained 0.4 per cent this week, closing at 8,690 points, while Bahrain's benchmark closed week unchanged at 1,137 points. Elsewhere, European, US and Asian stocks as well as the euro fell while safe-haven government bonds rose Friday as final approval for the Greek debt deal remained elusive as the plan agreed by Athens has fallen short of targets. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.9 percent at 1,063.96 points. The Stoxx Europe 600 Banking Index slid 2.3 percent. US stock futures pointed to a weak start on Wall Street. Futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 all down by 0.6 to 0.8 percent. Earlier, Asian stocks also lost ground, leaving global stocks as measured by the MSCI index down 0.8 percent at 325.34. The euro was 0.6 percent lower against the dollar at $1.3200, pulling back from a two-month high of $1.3322 reached Thursday.
