Gulf stock markets extended gains this week as investors appeared upbeat over the annual earnings of listed firms and Greece's bailout deal, financial officials said Friday. The improving performance of the world's leading economies, particularly in the United States and Germany, helped to fuel optimism particularly in the Gulf area that larger global demand for oil would keep crude prices above $100 a barrel, officials said. Saudi stocks extended gains this week, with the Tadawul All Shares Index (TASI) of the Arab world's largest bourse gaining 0.22 percent and closing at a 21-month high of 6,811.97 points. "There is optimism in the market which is fuelled by annual results and the improving performance of the US and Chinese economies, the key clients of Saudi petrochemical products," said Abdullah Baeshe, CEO of the Riyadh-based TeamOne financial consultancy group. He also attributed the robust performance of the Saudi stock market to local economic fundamentals, mainly the huge public spending and the "coherence between the state's fiscal and monetary decisions." Kuwaiti stocks rallied this week, buoyed by the ostensible political harmony between the government and the opposition-dominated new national assembly following the February 2 early elections, analysts said. Kuwait's KSE all-share index gained 2 per cent on a weekly basis, closing at 5,982 points. Dubai's index gained 1.9 percent this week, closing at 1,516 points. This week's gain raised to 17 percent the total rise in Dubai's benchmark over the past month due to intense foreign buying, analysts said. Abu Dhabi's index scored modest gains of 0.3 percent on weekly basis, to close at 2,474 points. Qatar's index shed 1.7 percent this week, closing at 8,544 points while Bahrain benchmark gained 0.6 percent with a weekly close of 1,144 points. Elsewhere, US blue chips headed upward but the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped in early trade Friday, with traders' eyes on whether Greece will get its bailout deal in the coming days. In the first half hour of trade the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 25.89 points (0.20 percent) to 12,929.97. The broad-based S&P 500 added 1.63 points (0.12 percent) to 1,359.67, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 4.86 (0.16 percent) to 2,954.99. Markets were cautious amid stronger signals from Europe that Greece's complex bailout could be decided Monday. European markets were higher amid rising confidence, with the Eurostoxx 50 average of blue chips jumping 1.6 percent. Inflation data showing the US consumer price index picked up to 0.2 percent month-on-month in January from December's flat rate helped temper early trade. "Although the gain in headline CPI was less than expected in January, core inflation pressures continue to build," said RDQ Economics. The Dow gained on 1.3 percent rise from industrial bellwether General electric and a 1.2 gain from DuPont. The Nasdaq was pulled lower in part by a 12.8 percent drop in biotech giant Gilead Sciences on news of difficulties in patient test of its experimental hepatitis C therapy. Bond prices slipped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.03 percent from 1.99 percent on Thursday, while the 30-year rose to 3.18 percent from 3.15 percent. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
