The Kuwait Stock Exchange on Thursday suspended trading in stocks of 21 listed firms for failing to announce their 2009 financial results within the stipulated period. A statement posted on the KSE website said the companies failed to announce their annual results within three months. The suspensions will end once companies announce results. KSE, the second-largest Arab stock market in terms of market value, has around 210 listed Kuwaiti and Gulf companies. Among the suspended firms is troubled Investment Dar, which has still to announce its 2008 results. Most of the firms are investment and real estate companies. Stock markets in the Gulf region on Wednesday ended the first quarter higher on the back of strong oil prices and signs of global economic recovery. Capitalization of the seven bourses rose to around $750 billion on March 31 compared to $680 billion at the end of last year, but far below their end-2007 value of $1.116 trillion. All seven stock markets ended the first three months of the year in positive territory, led by the Saudi bourse, the largest stock market in the region. Saudi Tadawul All-Shares Index, which rose 27.5 percent in 2009, added 11 percent in the first quarter of this year to close at 6,801.01 points up from 6,121.76 points last year. The Kuwait Stock Exchange, the second largest Arab bourse, was up 7.5 percent to close the quarter at 7,533.60 points from 7,005.30 points last year. In 2009, the market lost 10 percent.
