Gulf markets hit new highs

With the E-day of transfer to MSCI Emerging Markets status now less than a month away, the three soon-to-be-upgraded bourses of Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi each moved in a different way in week 19. The Dubai Financial Market leapt out of a flat week 18 to a 300-point rise that took it to a six-year high by market close Tuesday. It ended the week only slightly lower than that peak, with a net weekly gain of 4.4 percent. The Qatar Exchange, which dropped the previous week, recouped lost territory with a 1.8 percent climb, but then ended the week below the 13,000 points line that it had breached on Monday and Tuesday. The ADX Index on the other hand dropped another 0.4 percent, continuing its retreat of week 18. As the announcement of companies chosen by MSCI for inclusion in the Emerging Markets Index is slated for May 14, many eyes zoomed onto the real