Kuwaiti Banks Push Index Higher to Lead Mideast Gains: Inside EM - Bloomberg

Kuwaiti Banks Push Index Higher to Lead Mideast Gains: Inside EM - Bloomberg:

Kuwait’s main equity index led gains in the Gulf as banking shares including Kuwait Finance House KSCP and National Bank of Kuwait SAKP pushed it higher.

The Premier Market index of the biggest and most liquid shares in Kuwait rose as much as 1.3% on Sunday.

Index provider MSCI Inc.’s review of its benchmarks in November will be a driving factor for Kuwait’s stock market for the next two months, CI Capital Senior Analyst Sara Boutros said. Kuwait is on course for likely inclusion in MSCI’s emerging markets index.

Another catalyst is in Kuwait passing a debt law that would “help the government fund the budget deficit, while at the same time, possibly creating an interesting investment opportunity for the banks,” the CI Capital analyst said.

“Some banking stocks are trading at or close to their 10-year lows,” such as Gulf Bank and Burgan Bank, Boutros said. “These names are starting to attract some traction, given that they are laggards.”

Gauges in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain made gains while those in Dubai, Egypt and Qatar traded lower.