DUBAI, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Encouraging economic and corporate news lifted most indices from Kuwait to Muscat to multi-month highs on Sunday.
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index was once again in the regional focus at it posted the highest day-gain, closing 0. 95 higher at 1,791.73 points, a nearly three-year high.
Investment bank EFG Hermes said weekly technical indicators have reached the overbought level in Dubai for the first time in a year and has some room for more advance until the bank's target of 1,800 points.
Earlier on Saturday, the Dubai Department of Economic Development, or DED, said it issued in Dec. 2012 a total of 1,372 business licenses, up 6 percent compared with the same period last year.
Volumes were robust at the Dubai market with 550 million shares worth 655.2 million Dirham (178.67 million U.S. dollars). Due to the constant high turnover shares of the DFM, the only Arab bourse listed to the public, rose 0.81 percent to 1.24 Dirham (0.33 dollar), representing a 10-month high.
Gulf Arab markets also got tailwinds from Algeria, whose army ended the hostage crisis at the gas field near In Amenas, and from the United States where the U.S. bellwether index Dow Jones Industrial surged to five-year high after government and opposition agreed to renew talks on increasing the national debt ceiling.
That had also positive spillover effects on oil prices which rose to 95 dollars per barrel (West Texas Intermediate WTI), up 5. 90 percent month-on-month. Consequently, oil-sensitive markets like the Kuwait Stock Exchange or the Abu Dhabi market ADX advanced, closing up 0.30 percent and up 0.58 percent, respectively.
Kuwait got a push from a report published earlier in the day by Finance House Research that Kuwait's budget surplus for the period between April and November 2012 of fiscal year 2012/2013 surged to 14.7 billion Kuwaiti dinar (52.14 billion dollars), exceeding the 11.6 billion Kuwaiti dinar (41.14 billion dollars) surplus recorded a year earlier.
For the ADX, Sunday trading marked a 14-month high, fueled by comments from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) minister of economy that the Gulf states, a major oil exporter, grew 4 percent in GDP last year and that he also expected a 4 percent growth for 2013.
In Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian Tadawul market added a tiny 0.06 percent, finishing at 7,054.36 points. Shares of Saudi Arabian Mining Co. or Ma'aden closed flat at 34.90 Saudi riyal (9.07 dollars). After the closing, Ma'aden said its net income in the fourth quarter of 2012 amounted to 406 million Saudi riyal (105.56 million dollars), a 45-percent rise.
The Bahrain market index BASI in Manama failed to follow the positive momentum at other markets and ended 0.06 percent lower at 1,080.72 points.
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