Middle Eastern stock markets rallied in the first quarter of 2012, recovering most of the losses of 2011. But the region’s biggest bourse has gone a step further. Since protesters took to the streets of Cairo in January last year, the Saudi stock market has risen by more than 20 per cent and trading volumes have doubled.
Record oil earnings are the simple explanation for increased optimism in the kingdom, HSBC said in its quarterly regional economic outlook. Saudi Arabia is likely to earn more than $300bn from oil exports in 2012, more than ever before. As a result, the bank has raised its economic growth forecast for the country by a full percentage point, to 4 per cent this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment