The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) closed the week of Wednesday, November 21 up a slight 0.15 percent in what investors described as a hesitant market due mainly to a lack of liquidity.
The KSE index closed at 1631.5 points, ending the first week of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan only 2.5 points higher. The index is up 21 percent on the year but still down 42.4 percent on its all-time high of November 1997.
"The bearish mood in the market is basically due to the way all funds were set up that were supposed to contribute to liquidity in KSE," said one investor. "But the contrary has happened. The Kuwait Investment Authority's (KIA) subscription in those funds is in kind rather than in cash," he told AFP.
"Eleven funds valued at 400 million dinars ($1.3 billion), of which over 42 percent are KIA, are all trying to liquidate in a short period of time. As the supply and demand balance is sensitive, the market is fearful and reacting negatively to events."
The KSE closed last week only 0.8 points higher amid continued uncertainty over oil prices and international events. The market, which has lost 7.97 percent since the September 11 terror attacks on the US, is the second largest stock exchange in the Arab world in terms of capitalization after Saudi Arabia's NCFEI index. — (AFP, Kuwait City)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
