AMMAN: - Arab stocks lost momentum this week ahead of the Eid holiday due to start on Monday, but analysts said yesterday they expected regional markets to rebound after the fasting month of Ramadan.

"Markets were subdued mainly because of wide reshuffle of positions and profit taking moves which investors preferred to conduct before the Eid Al-Fitr feast," Wajdi Makhamreh, deputy CEO of the Osoul Brokerage said.

"However, we believe markets will gather momentum after the Eid holiday, when fresh liquidity is expected to be pumped into stock markets," he said.

Makhamreh said that over the past few months regional investors adopted a speculative strategy of "hit-and-run" approach that excludes holding stocks for long periods of times.

As for Jordanian shares, Makhamreh said the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) still enjoyed "positive factors", including the third quarter results, which he expected to represent a driving force after Ramadan.

The ASE all-share price index closed week on Thursday flat at 6,139 points compared with 6,136 points last week, according to the market’s weekly report.

Portfolio managers said they expected the Arab Bank profits released yesterday to have a positive impact on Jordanian stocks when the market reopen tomorrow, the last trading day before a week-long holiday.

Arab Bank chairman Abdul Hamid Shoman reported a 25.8% increase in the bank’s net profits in the first nine months of the year.

Saudi shares were the biggest losers in the region this week amidst reported disappointment over the third quarter results.

The Tadawul All Shares Index (Tasi) of the Arab world’s largest stock exchange, plummeted 4.0% this week, closing at 10,545.35 points down from 10,989.99 points last week.

Tasi is currently 36.9% lower than the year’s start, according to the weekly report of the Bakheet Financial Advisors (BFA).

"The market was negatively impacted by the earnings reported by most investment companies in the third quarter of the year," the report said.

The BFA expected investors "to rearrange their portfolios" in accordance with the released results and projected performance of listed firms.

"We also expect the market index to move horizontally mixed with some fluctuations until new positive announcements are released," they said.

In Kuwait, the KSE all-share price index gained 0.5% this week, to close at 10,497 points compared with last week’s close at 10,445 points.

Nasser al-Nafeesi from the Kuwait-based Joman Consultants Centre expected the market to "rebound after the Eid holiday" propelled by the third quarter results which he said came better than the second quarter.

The all-share index of the UAE stock exchange of Dubai declined by 1.9% this week, closing at 428.99 points from 437.16 points last week
Source: Gulf Times Newspaper