Qatar Exchange hits new high, but Dubai still leads

Arab markets continued to grow in week 17 of 2014, performing better than the previous week – with five of the twelve markets improving and only three dropping when compared with four gainers and five losers in week 16. Top gainer of the week was the Dubai Financial Market with a 6.9 percent rise, while the Qatar Exchange soared to an all-time index high. While numerous countries in the Middle East and North Africa were gearing up for elections, the news that drove regional securities markets came from the property and telecommunications sectors. The Gulf Although Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul shot up 100 points on Sunday the 20th and the TASI reached a new multi-year peak on Monday, the Kingdom’s exchange did not keep that upward momentum and its weekly advance did not exceed 0.3 percent. In terms of percentage gains, Qatar was the week’s runner up to Dubai but the