By Haris Anwar
Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Persian Gulf shares rose, sending indexes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi higher for the first time in eight days, as shares trading at the cheapest relative to earnings in two years lured investors. Kuwait's gauge dropped after a court lifted last week's trading suspension.
Emaar Properties PJSC, the Middle East's largest real- estate developer, surged by its daily limit of 15 percent. Aldar Properties PJSC, the biggest developer in Abu Dhabi, climbed the most in a month, as did Sorouh Real Estate Co. Dubai Group, an investment company, will target Middle Eastern assets including real estate, its chairman said today.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index soared 8.2 percent, the most since Oct. 14, to 2,142.85. The measure slumped 32 percent in the past seven days. Today's fluctuation was the biggest among indexes included in global benchmarks. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index added 3.3 percent, and Saudi Arabia's Tadawul rose 0.5 percent.
``Some investors are putting their money back into the market after such a massive decline,'' Motaz Herzallah, senior broker at Emirates Securities LLC in Abu Dhabi, said in a phone interview. ``Valuations are supporting Aldar, Emaar and Sorouh. It's a good time to buy if you think the bottom has been reached.''
Before today's gain Dubai's benchmark index was valued at 4.7 times the earnings of its 29 companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, the lowest ratio since at least February 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Abu Dhabi's index traded at 6.8 times earnings, the lowest in the almost three years that Bloomberg has tracked the data. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is today valued at 7.7 times earnings.
Valuations
Emaar advanced for the first time in nine days, surging to 3.3 dirhams. The shares now trade at 3.1 times earnings.
Aldar gained 8.2 percent to 4.63 dirhams, while Sorouh, Abu Dhabi's second-largest property developer by market value, climbed 8.5 percent to 2.94 dirhams. The shares are valued at 2.7 and 3.2 times profit.
Dubai Group, which manages more than $40 billion assets on behalf of Dubai's ruler, will target investments in Middle Eastern assets including real estate, which Chairman Soud Ba'alawy expects to suffer less.
``There is probably more resilience here. It will continue to grow at 3-5 percent, which will give good opportunities for us,'' he said.
Kuwaiti Trading
Dubai's index has still plunged 64 percent this year, while Abu Dhabi shares have slid 38 percent. Kuwait's benchmark dropped 32 percent. Gulf markets have retreated as oil prices declined, the credit crisis made it more difficult for companies to borrow, and the real-estate market slowed.
The Kuwait Stock Exchange Index lost 1.6 percent to 8,552.7, the lowest close since July 2005.
Trading in Kuwait resumed after a decision by the court for urgent cases yesterday. The bourse had disputed a decision by another court that shut the market on Nov. 13 to protect investors from falling share prices. Kuwait is the only Gulf stock exchange to have suspended trading amid the global economic crisis.
National Bank of Kuwait, the state's biggest lender, lost 8.8 percent to 1,040 fils, falling to the lowest since July 2005. Ibrahim Dabdoub, the bank's chief executive officer, said Gulf states should use their huge financial surplus to minimize the impact of the international financial crisis by pumping liquidity into markets.
Kuwait Finance House, the country's largest Islamic bank, dropped 7.4 percent, the most since March 2005, to 1,260 fils.
The Bahrain All Share Index lost 1.4 percent. Oman's Muscat Securities Market 30 Index rose 0.4 percent and Qatar's DSM 20 Index gained 0.1 percent.
The following stocks also rose or fell in the region. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names:
Doha Bank QSC (DHBK QD) dropped 3.3 percent to 35.1 riyals. The country's third-biggest bank by assets plans to raise 1.47 billion riyals ($404 million) by selling new shares to the Qatar Investment Authority as it seeks to raise its capital by 20 percent.
International Financial Advisors KSCC (IFA KK) declined 1.9 percent to 204 fils. The Kuwaiti asset-management company said third-quarter profit fell to 2.6 million dinars ($3.7 million) from 5.3 million dinars in the year-earlier period.
National Real Estate Co. (NRE KK) dropped 4.5 percent to 212 fils. The Kuwaiti property company said third-quarter profit declined 51 percent to 5.6 million dinars.
Sultan Center for Food Products Co. (SULTAN KK), a Kuwaiti supermarket and restaurant operator, fell 5.2 percent to 184 fils after it said third-quarter profit declined 57 percent to 2.7 million dinars.
To contact the reporter on this story: Haris Anwar in Dubai on Hanwar2@bloomberg.net
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment