Abu Dhabi: The outlook for the region's stock markets is bullish this week on the back of firm international oil prices, strong domestic cues and a better-than-expected market performance in Europe and the US which have lifted sentiments of investors across the globe, analysts say.
"The markets in the GCC in general should perform well as some domestic companies' earnings have beaten analysts' estimates," Samer Darwiche, associate at Dubai-based Gulfmena Investments Ltd told Gulf News. "Saudi Arabia's market will look to stabilise around 6,800 levels, while the markets in Abu Dhabi and Dubai markets are looking positive.
"The market in Doha has been underperforming since Qatar National Bank announced last month a lower dividend than what the market had been expecting. We expect Doha's market to remain flat until a catalyst comes along."
Gary Dugan, chief investment officer for private banking at Emirates NBD wrote in his latest research note that the general backdrop to markets remains favourable, barring a messy Greek default.
"In the very near term, however, we remain somewhat wary that markets have rallied too strongly and that further profit-taking and lower markets are quite possible," Dugan said.
"The Chinese equity market is worth considering given its low valuation and good support from local investors.
"The problems in the Eurozone are probably the only factor holding investors from making more substantial investments in the market."
The UAE markets last week slipped into the negative territory on profit-taking by investors. On Thursday, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index ended 0.45 per cent lower at 1,516.05 while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange general index fell 0.53 per cent to close at 2,474.43.
