Kuwait Stocks Extend Advance as Banks Weigh on U.A.E. Markets - Bloomberg

Kuwait Stocks Extend Advance as Banks Weigh on U.A.E. Markets - Bloomberg:

"Kuwait’s main stock gauge, the Middle East’s best performer this year, rose for an eighth day, while shares in the United Arab Emirates fell as investors prepared for the release of bank earnings.

Kuwait’s SE Price Index advanced 1.7 percent to the highest level since August 2015 as 98 of the measure’s 182 members gained, the most in almost a year. Traders exchanged 560 million shares, more than three times the 30-day intraday average. Emirates NBD PJSC, the U.A.E.’s biggest bank, will probably release its 2016 earnings this week. The Dubai-based lender declined 1 percent.

“Normally banks during the fourth quarter increase their provisioning -- that is cyclical,” said Ali Adou, an equities money manager at The National Investor in Abu Dhabi. “Banks across the region will take the opportunity to clean as much as they can in terms of provisions, as it was a very difficult year.” This year’s outlook should be better if oil prices maintain current levels, he said."



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