By Fiona MacDonald and Glen Carey
Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Kuwait's court for urgent cases ruled that trading at the country's stock exchange should resume tomorrow, after the bourse disputed a decision by another court that shut the market to protect investors from falling share prices.
The decision read out today in Kuwait City by Jugde Waleed Hasan will allow the exchange to operate. The ruling came a day before the administrative court is due to discuss its decision issued Nov. 13, which halted trading at the bourse.
Kuwait is the only Middle Eastern stock exchange to have suspended trading amid the global economic slowdown as regional bourses plunged on tighter credit markets. Kuwait's benchmark index declined 42 percent in the last six months, while Dubai's index lost 65 percent and Abu Dhabi fell 45 percent.
Kuwaiti traders on Oct. 27 left the floor of the emirate's exchange to lobby the nearby Ruler's Office and demand the government intervene to halt the decline in share prices.
Kuwait's central bank has taken measures to restore confidence in the banking system, including the rescue of Gulf Bank KSC after some of its clients refused to honor losses on currency derivatives trades. Policy makers have also guaranteed deposits in commercial banks, increased banks' loan-to-deposit ratio and cut the benchmark interest rate.
To contact the reporter on this story: Fiona MacDonald in Kuwait FmacDonald4@bloomberg.net; Glen Carey in Dubai at gcarey8@bloomberg.net.
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