US hurricane makes Gulf Arab investors wait and see

While all Gulf Arab equity indexes closed unchanged Tuesday, two market heavyweights in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the gas and transport industry moved into the spotlight. Hurricane Sandy, which hit the East Coast of the United States, was still on the mind of Gulf Arab investors as the stock market in New York remained closed Monday and Tuesday, the first time since the closure after the September 11 attacks. Consequently, most investors in Arabia adopted a wait-and-see attitude, leaving the markets barely changed. Stock indexes of oil-sensitive markets in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi closed flat at 5,769.84 points and 2,671.69 points, respectively. In Abu Dhabi, shares of Dana Gas dived 4.26 percent to hit 0.43 Dirham (0.12 U.S. dollars.) Since its 5-year peak in January 2008, the share lost 80 percent of its value. Earlier, the Abu Dhabi-based daily The National said uncertainty increased over whether or not Dana Gas was able to settle an Islamic Bond it issued at a par value of 3.37 billion Dirham (919 million dollars.) The bond is due to expire on Oct. 31, but Dana Gas's largest shareholder Crescent Petroleum, which holds one fifth of Dana Gas, said it will not bailout the firm in case it will not be able to settle the Islamic bond. The Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI) ended Tuesday trading likewise flat at 1,622 amid low trading volumes. With a year-to-date gain of 19.87 percent, the local Dubai market is the second best performing gauge behind Egypt's EGX-30, which is up 59. 24 percent since Jan. 1, 2012. However, since the DFMGI hit a six-month high on Oct. 17, the measure lost 30 points on fresh worries about a decline in world economic output after U.S. heavyweights like Citigroup reported worse than expected quarterly results. Earlier in the day, Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes said in its daily short-term analysis that "The trend is showing weakness appeared in most of volume indicators, as it is showing negative divergence with Volume Zone Oscillator and the Money flow indicator has just broke below two supports. Both indicators recorded a new low which has not been reached for the past five months which implies weakness." EFG Hermes added that "On the short-term, we expect the market to target 1,590 points. On the medium-term, and until the break of 1,655 with a decent volume, we expect a sideway between 1,540 and 1,640 points." At Dubai international market NASDAQ Dubai, Dubai Ports (DP) World jumped 2.10 percent to hit 11.85 dollars. Earlier in the day, the world's third largest maritime port operator said gross container volumes increased 4.5 percent in the first nine months of the year "driven by strong growth across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East and UAE region." However, in the third quarter, DP World handled 14.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units across its portfolio of container terminals, representing a one percent decrease over the same period last year. The Qatar Exchange in Doha added 0.06 percent to reach 8,521.37 points amid small gains across all sectors. The Saudi Arabian Tadawul market rained closed due to Islamic holidays marking the feast of sacrifice which also marks the annual pilgrimage days in Mecca. Riyadh will resume trading on Nov. 3.