Arab stock markets gained in excess of $130 billion (Dh477bn) in the first half of this year despite massive losses in the bourses of Gulf oil producers over the past two weeks, official figures showed yesterday.

All regional markets were gainers except the bourses of Dubai and Saudi Arabia, which dipped in the first half. But their losses were more than offset by mammoth share gains in Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco, the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) said in a report on Arab bourses for the second quarter.

Dubai lost around $1.68bn during the first half while Saudi Arabia, by far the largest and most speculative stock exchange in the Arab world, sank by more than $46bn, mainly because of widespread speculation.

In contrast, Kuwait added a staggering $77bn to its market capitalisation while there was a surge of nearly $40bn in Qatar, $13bn in Jordan, $11bn in Lebanon and around $15bn in Morocco, the report said.

Modest increases were recorded in Abu Dhabi, Oman, Bahrain and other Arab markets, said the Arab Monetary Fund, the Arab League's main financial organisation, which tracks regional bourses through its Joint Stock Data Base in Abu Dhabi.

The report showed Gulf bourses were the most fluctuating markets in the Arab world and dealers attributed this to growing speculation in some bourses, an influx of foreign investors, geopolitical tensions and several other factors.

Over the past two weeks, the seven bourses of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including two in the UAE, lost nearly $37bn in market capitalisation. But in the previous five months, they had gained in excess of $145bn, while their profits exceeded $180bn through 2007.

"The Gulf bourses, with the exception of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, had been among the most stable markets in the world as speculation had been almost absent and dealing was dominated by long-term investment," said Ziad Dabbas, share dealing adviser at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

"But the situation has changed now, particularly in the UAE… speculation has become widespread and it seems the UAE is paying the price of allowing heavy presence of foreign investors though they also have positive effects."

The combined Arab market capitalisation recorded a big rise in the first half of this year despite a decline in the number of listed companies to 1,516 on June 30 from 1,550 on January 1.


The numbers

$180bn: The profits achieved by investors in the Gulf Cooperation Council in 2007

$37bn: The loss suffered by Gulf Cooperation Council investors over the past two weeks