ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css"> <link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="favicon.ico"> <META NAME="Keywords" content="Sales and Marketing Solutions Dubai | Credit Reports Dubai | Enterprise Risk Management Dubai | Basel II Compliance | Company Rating Services Dubai | Data Cleansing Dubai | Credit Bureau in Dubai | SME Business Rating Dubai | Business Optimism Index Dubai | Lead Generation Dubai | Risk Management Solutions Dubai | Company Reports | Business Data and Statistics Dubai | Credit Risk Management Dubai | Professionals Business Advisory Dubai | Company Reports Dubai | Risk Consulting Management Dubai"> <title>D&amp;B - Dun &amp; Bradstreet - South Asia Middle East Ltd. - Sales and Marketing Solutions Dubai | Credit Reports Dubai | Enterprise Risk Management Dubai | Basel II Compliance | Company Rating Services Dubai | Data Cleansing Dubai | Credit Bureau in Dubai | SME Business Rating Dubai | Business Optimism Index Dubai | Lead Generation Dubai | Risk Management Solutions Dubai | Company Reports | Business Data and Statistics Dubai | Credit Risk Management Dubai | Professionals Business Advisory Dubai | Company Reports Dubai | Risk Consulting Management Dubai</title> <script type="text/JavaScript"> <!-- function MM_preloadImages() { //v3.0 var d=document; 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//************************************************************* function countryPage(selector) { var s = "http://www.dnb.com/" + selector.options[selector.selectedIndex].value; if (s) { parent.location = s } } </script> </head> <body onload="MM_preloadImages('images/pressroom-btn.jpg','images/home-over.jpg','images/about-over.jpg','images/duns-over.jpg','images/solutions-over.jpg','images/pressroom-over.jpg','images/jobs-over.jpg','images/contact-over.jpg','images/sitemap-over.jpg')"> <table width="100%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top"><script> //************************************************************* //* This function takes the two letter country code from a //* pull down list, constructs the URL and drives that in the //* _Top frame. //************************************************************* function countryPage(selector) { var s = "http://www.dnb.com/" + selector.options[selector.selectedIndex].value; if (s) { parent.location = s } } </script><form name="country_select" id="country_select" target="_top" > <table width="1000" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="178" bgcolor="#FFD83B"><img src="images/logo_new.jpg" width="178" height="75" /></td> <td align="right" valign="bottom" background="images/top-bg.jpg"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="67%" align="right" valign="bottom" class="boiheadingblue" style="padding-bottom:8px;">South Asia & Middle East </td> <td width="33%" align="left" style="padding-left:12PX;"><table width="30%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td align="left" class="blueheading">Select Region</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="40" align="left"><select name="country" class="select2" onChange="countryPage(country);"> <option value="uk">United Kingdom</option> <option value="af" >Africa</option> <option value="ar">Argentina</option> <option value="au">Australia</option> <option value="at">Austria</option> <option value="bh">Bahrain</option> <option value="bh">Bangladesh</option> <option value="be">Belgium</option> <option value="bt">Bhutan</option> <option value="br">Brazil</option> <option value="bn">Brunei Daussalam</option> <option value="cb">Cambodia</option> <option value="ca">Canada</option> <option value="cn">China</option> <option value="cz">Czech Republic</option> <option value="dk">Denmark</option> <option value="et">East Timor</option> <option value="ee">Eastern Europe</option> <option value="af">Egypt</option> <option value="fi">Finland</option> <option value="fr">France</option> <option value="de">Germany</option> <option value="af">Ghana</option> <option value="gr">Greece</option> <option value="hk">Hong Kong</option> <option value="hu">Hungary</option> <option value="in">India</option> <option value="ie">Ireland</option> <option value="id">Indonesia</option> <option value="ir">Iran</option> <option value="iq">Iraq</option> <option value="il">Israel</option> <option value="it">Italy</option> <option value="jp">Japan</option> <option value="jo">Jordan</option> <option value="af">Kenya</option> <option value="kr">Korea</option> <option value="kw">Kuwait</option> <option value="lo">Laos</option> <option value="la">Latin America</option> <option value="lb">Lebanon</option> <option value="mv">Maldives</option> <option value="my">Malaysia</option> <option value="md">Mediterranean Europe</option> <option value="mx">Mexico</option> <option value="mr">Myanmar</option> <option value="me" selected="selected">Middle East</option> <option value="np">Nepal</option> <option value="nl">Netherlands</option> <option value="nz">New Zealand</option> <option value="af">Nigeria</option> <option value="no">Norway</option> <option value="om">Oman</option> <option value="pk">Pakistan</option> <option value="pe">Peru</option> <option value="ph">Phillippines</option> <option value="pl">Poland</option> <option value="pt">Portugal</option> <option value="qa">Qatar</option> <option value="ru">Russia-CIS</option> <option value="su">Saudi Arabia</option> <option value="sg">Singapore</option> <option value="sk">Slovakia</option> <option value="ee">Slovenia</option> <option value="sa">South Africa</option> <option value="es">Spain</option> <option value="lk">Sri Lanka</option> <option value="se">Sweden</option> <option value="ch">Switzerland</option> <option value="sy">Syria</option> <option value="af">Tanzania</option> <option value="th">Thailand</option> <option value="tw">Taiwan</option> <option value="tr">Turkey</option><option value="ae">UAE</option> <option value="af">Uganda</option> <option value="us">United States</option> <option value="vn">Vietnam</option> <option value="ye">Yemen</option> </select></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> 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Us','','images/contact-over.jpg',1)"><img src="images/contact-btn.jpg" alt="Contact Us" name="Contact Us" width="101" height="35" border="0" id="Contact Us" /></a></td> <td width="79" height="35" align="left" background="images/menu-bg.jpg" class="whitetxt" style="padding-right:0px;"><a href="sitemap_main.html" onmouseout="MM_swapImgRestore()" onmouseover="MM_swapImage('Sitemap','','images/sitemap-over.jpg',1)"><img src="images/sitemap-btn.jpg" alt="Sitemap" name="Sitemap" width="81" height="35" border="0" id="Sitemap" /></a></td> <td width="199" align="center" background="images/menu-bg.jpg" class="whitetxt" style="padding-right:0px;"> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript"><!-- function makeArray() { for (i = 0; i<makeArray.arguments.length; i++) this[i + 1] = makeArray.arguments[i]; } var months = new makeArray('Jan','Feb','Mar','Apr','May', 'Jun','Jul','Aug','Sep','Oct','Nov','Dec'); var date = new Date(); var day = date.getDate(); var month = date.getMonth() + 1; var yy = date.getYear(); var year = (yy < 1000) ? yy + 1900 : yy; document.write(day + " " + months[month] + ", " + year); //--></script></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="230" valign="top"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><img src="images/d&amp;b_solution-img-1.jpg" width="230" height="180" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="5" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffd119"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td colspan="2" align="center"><img src="images/pressreleases-top.jpg" width="231" height="32" /></td> </tr> <tr class="CellOver" onclick="self.location.href='news.html'" onmouseover="this.className='CellOver'" onmouseout="this.className='CellOver'"> <td width="26" height="31" align="center" style="border-bottom:1px solid #ffe88c;"><img src="images/bullet-white.gif" width="4" height="8" /></td> <td width="204" height="31" align="left" style="border-bottom:1px solid #ffe88c;">In the News </td> </tr> <tr class="CellNormal" onclick="self.location.href='newsletter.html'" onmouseover="this.className='CellOver'" onmouseout="this.className='CellNormal'"> <td width="26" height="31" align="center" style="border-bottom:1px solid #ffe88c;"><img src="images/bullet-white.gif" width="4" height="8" /></td> <td height="31" align="left" style="border-bottom:1px solid #ffe88c;">Newsletters</td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> <tr> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> </table></td> <td align="left" valign="top" style="padding-left:15px; padding-top:8px;"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td align="left" class="main-heading">In the News </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" style="padding-top:5px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" class="TableClas" id="Table1"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="heading"><font color="#0066cc" size="4"> <b>Regional stocks </b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="11"></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="author"><font size="2"><b>Published : </b>20 February 2011  Gulfnews.com</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="author"><font size="2" face="verdana"> <hr /> </font></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="150"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" id="Table1"> <tbody> <tr> <td height="4"> <p>The three months from November 2010 to January 2011 emerged as the second consecutive quarter marked by an array of economic and political factors which imposed themselves upon investor sentiments. </p> <p><strong>Global</strong></p> <p>At the end of the quarter, benchmark global indices (viz. DJIA, FTSE100 and Nikkei) posted gains of 6.96 per cent, 3.31 per cent and 11.25 per cent respectively. But emerging market indices were mixed  the KOSPI (Korea) gained 9.9 per cent, while the China Shanghai Composite Index and India's NIFTY were down by 6.3 per cent and 8.5 per cent respectively upon perceptions of overheating of domestic economies, which triggered a foreign institutional investor pullback.</p> <p>November saw the US Federal Reserve announce details of the QE2 programme and encouraging US employment and manufacturing and non-manufacturing sector index data, while China and India reported an uptick in manufacturing activity. But Eurozone debt worries came back to trouble investor sentiments as Ireland received a 85 billion euros (Dh423 billion) bailout and bond spreads in peripheral Eurozone nations reached record highs.</p> <p>As the year-end and the holiday season approached, the global indices gained amid subdued volumes. Investor sentiments rejuvenated on news of a jump in private sector employment numbers in the US for November, but other weaker jobs-related data caused global indices to give up some of the gains. December also saw some big ticket M&A deals being announced, which helped re-instill investor confidence. A series of positive news from the US further underpinned investor confidence.</p> <p>After beginning 2011 on a positive note, a slowdown in buying activity was seen as US retail sales data disappointed and China's exports showed signs of slowing down. But risk appetite re-emerged as Eurozone ministers mulled expansion of the 750 billion euros European Financial Stability Fund. Later the US corporate earnings season began with robust performances. The DJIA temporarily crossed over the 12,000 psychological mark, but turned southward after China's fourth-quarter GDP growth of 9.8 per cent stoked investor concerns of monetary tightening.</p> <p><strong>Middle East</strong></p> <p>The onset of political unrest in Egypt hit investor sentiments in the GCC region at the very end of the three months under review (November-January), shaving gains among some regional indices and dragging some deeper into the red.</p> <p>The Opec basket price gained 19.5 per cent during the quarter, but did not have a significant positive impact as other sectors faced heavy selling pressure. Qatar's successful bid for the football World Cup and the associated economic benefits helped the Qatar index post healthy gains, while the Omani government unveiled new projects aggregating to more than $30 billion (Dh110.1 billion), thus bolstering investor appetite.</p> <p>The Dubai Financial Market's general index lagged regional indices this quarter (down 13.0 per cent) as all sectoral indices slipped into the red, led by the utilities and the real estate sectors. Real estate sector heavyweights Emaar Properties and Arabtec Holding were pressured as liquidity concerns and disappointing earnings led to investors shying away. A report on the weak demand outlook for the real estate sector in the country was also instrumental in those two stocks losing 20.5 per cent and 26.6 per cent respectively. Investor worries were compounded when the Dubai government injected $2 billion into Dubai Holding in November, prompting fresh debt concerns. The financial services sector index lost 16.7 per cent during the quarter as sector heavyweights Emirates NBD and Mashreqbank lost 12 per cent and 14 per cent during the three months. Tabreed, the sole constituent of the utilities sector, was dumped by investors on the announcement of a capital reduction.</p> <p>The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange general index was the second-biggest loser among GCC peers in the period under review as weak investor confidence triggered a broad-based retreat. Only the industrial and health-care sector indices ended the quarter on a positive note, gaining 4.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively. Concerns about the country's real estate sector had a negative impact on the real estate and construction sector indices, which slumped 30.5 per cent and 20.3 per cent. Real estate sector stock Aldar Properties, which faced a ratings downgrade in November and later announced restructuring plans in January, which would be dilutive to existing shareholders, caused the stock price to decline 36.8 per cent during the quarter. In spite of a gradual progress on the Zain Kuwait acquisition, prevalent weak sentiments led to an 8.8 per cent decline in the share price of Etisalat during the same period.</p> <p>The Saudi Stock Exchange index closed flat in the November-January period as gains in the building and construction, banks and financial services and petrochemical industries sectors mitigated the losses suffered by most other sectors. Investor sentiments were boosted in December upon the release of Saudi Arabia's expansionary budget for 2011, which outlined 580 billion Saudi riyals (Dh568 billion) allocated for infrastructure, education and health care. An oil price rally during the quarter helped the petrochemical sector index to the upside. The banks and financial services sector added 1.6 per cent even as some company earnings missed analysts and investors' expectations. Al Ahli Bank announced a net loss of 5.5 million riyals, while Weqaya Takaful revealed a net loss of 43.4 million riyals for 2010. The transport and the agriculture and food industries sectors suffered most during the quarter.</p> <p>After beginning the quarter on a positive note, the Kuwait KSEMI index closed below the key 7,000 point mark as investors acted cautiously in defining strategies and targets for 2011 amid political unrest in the region. Of the eight sectoral indices, three closed the quarter in the green, with the banking sector index standing out with a 6.9 per cent gain. The other sectoral indices, which witnessed heavy selling pressure, gave up between 5 per cent and 9 per cent over the quarter, with the industrial sector dipping the most at 8.7 per cent, followed by the food and investment sectors, which dropped 7.5 per cent and 5.9 per cent respectively. A healthy beginning to the earnings season, especially from blue chips such as Boubyan Bank and Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, lifted the banking sector index. National Bank of Kuwait reported a 14 per cent increase in net profit from 265.2 million Kuwait dinars (Dh3,477 million) in 2009 to 301.7 million dinars in 2010.</p> <p>The Qatar stock market posted double-digit gains during the November to January period as stocks in the banking and financial services and industrial sectors witnessed robust buying support. The quarter started on a very optimistic note with the QEI emerging as the region's top performing index in November. December witnessed a spike in buying support after Qatar won the hosting of the 2022 Football World Cup. A robust infrastructure outlook has directly boosted demand for related sector stocks such as contracting and cement companies, and indirectly for other support services companies. In January the 50 billion Qatari riyal (Dh50.4 billion) bond issue by the Qatari government to the local banks triggered investor concerns. The bourse witnessed profit-taking, and the QEI slipped below the important 9,000 mark. But, a healthy beginning to the corporate earnings season helped maintain overall sentiments.</p> <p>The MSM30 index in Oman emerged as the second-topmost gainer among its GCC peers, up 4.4 per cent on the quarterly reviewed. The services and insurance sector index gained an impressive 10.5 per cent, and propped up the main index the most. Nawras's IPO, which is the country's largest in terms of value since 2005 and the second largest in the GCC since July 2009, was fully subscribed, and its listing on the exchange cheered investors. The country's eighth five-year development plan, for 2011-15, revealing new projects worth $31.2 billion across various sectors, is expected to aid developmental efforts to achieve a higher non-oil sector contribution to GDP  an announcement that garnered positive investor sentiments. In January an encouraging corporate earnings season helped in maintaining a buoyant mood, pushing the main index above the psychological 7,000 point mark, though later the crisis in Egypt dragged the index lower</p> <p>The Bahrain bourse was marginally down 0.9 per cent in the three months ended January 2011. In spite of a 19.3 per cent rise in the hotels and tourism and 4.5 per cent rise in the insurance sector indices, a major sell-off witnessed in the services, investment and commercial banking sector indices  which dipped 2.9 per cent, 2.2 and 0.6 per cent respectively  dragged the main index lower. During the quarter the benchmark index touched a low of 1,408 points in December before recovering to a quarterly high of 1,473 points in late January. Investor optimism from the listing of Bahrain Aluminium on both the Bahrain and the London stock exchanges at the end of November was muted. Helping sentiments was the Bahrain government's draft budget for 2011-12 financial year, released in January, which revealed plans of an estimated 5.3 billion Bahraini dinars (Dh51.6 billion) expenditure on various projects over the next two years.</p> <br /> <br /> <!--Phil Strange, Chief Financial Officer, D&amp;B (Middle East and South Asia) --> <p><span class="darkblueheading"><img src="images/blue-bullet.jpg" width="4" height="8" /></span> &nbsp;<a href="http://gulfnews.com/in-focus/supplements/regional-stocks-1.762462" target=_blank class="darkbluelink">Read the article in Gulfnews</a></p> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="200">&nbsp;</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <!-- Article End --> <!-- show social bookmark site badge/button, if referer is same. START --> <!-- show social bookmark site badge/button, if referer is same. 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