PHOTO
By Andrew Torchia
DUBAI, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's stock market rose on Tuesday on the back of gains by Al Rajhi Bank
The Saudi stock index
Ma'aden
Maather REIT Fund
Its subscription in the IPO had been covered 15.2 times and analysts at NCB Capital had estimated that based on its subscription price of 10 riyals per share, its dividend yield for 2017 would be 7.2 percent.
Three other REITs were among the 10 most actively traded stocks and swung widely, although they closed lower. Al Jazira Mawten REIT
International index compiler FTSE is due to decide towards the end of September whether to upgrade Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to secondary emerging market status, which could bring them billion of dollars of fresh passive and active fund inflows.
Some investors have begun positioning for the decisions, and Arqaam Capital said in a report on Tuesday that positive decisions appeared likely in both cases, although actual inclusion would probably only occur in two phases in September 2018 and March 2019.
However, Tarek Fadlallah, chief executive of Nomura Asset Management Middle East, wrote in a report that macroeconomic indicators suggested a subdued outlook for Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and that while profits at listed regional companies had stabilised, valuations were not particularly cheap against international peers or their own historical averages.
"Investors may take a wait and see attitude as they evaluate the path and consequences of economic reform," he wrote of GCC bourses.
Dubai's index
Abu Dhabi stocks
Qatar's index
In Egypt, the index
HIGHLIGHTS
SAUDI ARABIA
* The index
DUBAI
* The index
ABU DHABI
* The index
QATAR
* The index
EGYPT
* The index
KUWAIT
* The index
BAHRAIN
* The index
OMAN
* The index
(Reporting by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Susan Fenton) ((andrew.torchia@thomsonreuters.com; +9715 6681 7277; Reuters Messaging: andrew.torchia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))