Gulf stock markets showed variable performance this week amid diverse response of investors to earnings of listerd firms, particularly blue chips, financial analysts said Friday. Saudi shares were the key beneficiaries from corporate profits and planned dividend distributions, but the United Arab Emirates stocks extended losses, reportedly due to sell-offs by foreign investors, they added. Saudi shares extended gains this week, propelled by profits scored by the banking and petrochemical sectors. For the week, Saudi stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) gained 1.9 percent, closing 0.21 percent on Wednesday at 6,382.04 points. TASI is currently 4.3 percent higher than the year's start, according to the weekly report of the Riyadh-based Bakheet Investment Group (BIG). The Saudi market drew momentum from ‘the outstanding performance of the banking sector' following the release of profits achieved by leading banks in the fourth quarter of 2009, the report said. “The Saudi market was also positively affected by the annual results of blue chips, particularly the Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), which reported a 133 percent increase in its profits for the fourth quarter due to rising prices of petrochemical products,” it added. BIG expected the Saudi stock exchange to “maintain its positive performance” in the coming weeks, with investors shifting positions to stocks capable of achieving growth. Kuwait's KSE all-share index fell 1 percent this week, closing at 7,062 points, due to the decline of the banking index, analysts said. The Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock exchanges plunged 3.2 percent and 2.6 percent, to close week respectively at 1,652 points and 2,637 points. “I believe regional markets, particularly the Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock exchanges, are still coming under pressure from the Dubai World debt issue,” Nizar Taher, chief of brokerage at the Jordan Ahli Bank, said. “Besides, Arab bourses are affected by the fluctuating oil prices. The downward trend of crude oil prices had an apparent impact on regional markets this week.” Taher and other financial analysts believed that the annual corporate results, particularly of blue chips, would remain the main moving factor for Middle East markets for the coming few weeks. Egypt's AGX30 index gained 2.7 percent, closing the week at 6,864 points.
