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http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20081113/twl-trading-halted-at-kuwait-bourse-on-c-4bdc673.html
Trading halted at Kuwait bourse on court order
Trading at the Kuwait Stock Exchange, the second largest Arab bourse, was halted Thursday following an unprecedented court order aimed at curbing the market's slide and preventing massive losses among small investors.
"The administrative court ordered that trading be suspended immediately at the bourse until November 17 when the court will sit again to look into the issue," said the ruling, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
This week alone across the seven markets of the oil-rich Gulf states, about 100 billion dollars has been wiped off share values to around 650 billion dollars -- about 42 percent down from 1.116 trillion dollars last year.
Thursday is the last trading day of the week in Kuwait, where the market has been trading at 40-month lows over concerns about a global recession and problems at local institutions.
The court issued its ruling after a lawsuit filed on behalf of an investor who claimed he had incurred heavy losses on the Kuwait market over the past few weeks.
When trading was halted, the KSE Index had shed 1.8 percent, dragged down by the banks and investment sectors.
Traders celebrated the decision with shouts of "long live small traders, thank you lawyer," an AFP photographer said.
Last month, Kuwaiti investors demonstrated for four days, calling for government intervention to prop up the market which has seen around 100 billion dollars wiped off its value since late June.
The court ruling said the order was issued to spare investors from heavy losses, finding that the bourse management failed to take any measures to boost the flagging market.
The lawsuit was filed against the prime minister, the commerce minister who is the head of the bourse committee and the director general of the bourse, court papers showed.
Since June 24, when the KSE hit an all-time peak of 15,654, the market has lost more than 43 percent.
The government in OPEC's fourth largest producer has taken several measures to try to ward off the fallout of the global financial crisis.
Kuwait Investment Authority, the emirate's sovereign wealth fund with foreign investments of around 300 billion dollars, pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into buying stocks.
The central bank also injected billions of dollars into local banks and last week, parliament passed a law to guarantee deposits at national and foreign banks.
But the measures failed to halt the market meltdown, with investors jittery not only about the global crisis but also problems at the Gulf Bank and debt incurred by local investment firms.
The Gulf Bank, Kuwait's second largest lender, said it incurred heavy losses from derivatives deals which the local media estimated at around one billion dollars.
Other Gulf markets also tumbled on Thursday, most of them for the sixth straight trading day.
The Dubai Financial Market ended down 4.9 percent at 2,106.14 points, its lowest in more than four years. It plunged 24.7 percent over the week, one of the worst losses ever, and is down 64.5 percent on the year.
It was dragged down by the market leader, property giant Emaar, which sank 5.6 percent to 3.18 dirhams (0.87 dollars). Its shares have sunk by almost 80 percent this year.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange dropped 1.5 percent to 2,765.07 despite a 0.6 percent rise in the real estate market. Most other sectors were lower with banking down 2.8 percent and energy dropping 4.6 percent.
The ADX has lost 16.8 percent over the week.
The Doha Securities Market retreated 2.6 percent to 5,886.12 points, a weekly drop of 20.5 percent. The Muscat Securities Market lost 2.4 percent and the Bahrain Stock Exchange 0.9 percent.
The Saudi market, the largest in the Arab world, closed the week on Wednesday slightly up on the day but down 10 percent on the week.
Trading halted at Kuwait bourse on court order
Trading at the Kuwait Stock Exchange, the second largest Arab bourse, was halted Thursday following an unprecedented court order aimed at curbing the market's slide and preventing massive losses among small investors.
"The administrative court ordered that trading be suspended immediately at the bourse until November 17 when the court will sit again to look into the issue," said the ruling, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
This week alone across the seven markets of the oil-rich Gulf states, about 100 billion dollars has been wiped off share values to around 650 billion dollars -- about 42 percent down from 1.116 trillion dollars last year.
Thursday is the last trading day of the week in Kuwait, where the market has been trading at 40-month lows over concerns about a global recession and problems at local institutions.
The court issued its ruling after a lawsuit filed on behalf of an investor who claimed he had incurred heavy losses on the Kuwait market over the past few weeks.
When trading was halted, the KSE Index had shed 1.8 percent, dragged down by the banks and investment sectors.
Traders celebrated the decision with shouts of "long live small traders, thank you lawyer," an AFP photographer said.
Last month, Kuwaiti investors demonstrated for four days, calling for government intervention to prop up the market which has seen around 100 billion dollars wiped off its value since late June.
The court ruling said the order was issued to spare investors from heavy losses, finding that the bourse management failed to take any measures to boost the flagging market.
The lawsuit was filed against the prime minister, the commerce minister who is the head of the bourse committee and the director general of the bourse, court papers showed.
Since June 24, when the KSE hit an all-time peak of 15,654, the market has lost more than 43 percent.
The government in OPEC's fourth largest producer has taken several measures to try to ward off the fallout of the global financial crisis.
Kuwait Investment Authority, the emirate's sovereign wealth fund with foreign investments of around 300 billion dollars, pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into buying stocks.
The central bank also injected billions of dollars into local banks and last week, parliament passed a law to guarantee deposits at national and foreign banks.
But the measures failed to halt the market meltdown, with investors jittery not only about the global crisis but also problems at the Gulf Bank and debt incurred by local investment firms.
The Gulf Bank, Kuwait's second largest lender, said it incurred heavy losses from derivatives deals which the local media estimated at around one billion dollars.
Other Gulf markets also tumbled on Thursday, most of them for the sixth straight trading day.
The Dubai Financial Market ended down 4.9 percent at 2,106.14 points, its lowest in more than four years. It plunged 24.7 percent over the week, one of the worst losses ever, and is down 64.5 percent on the year.
It was dragged down by the market leader, property giant Emaar, which sank 5.6 percent to 3.18 dirhams (0.87 dollars). Its shares have sunk by almost 80 percent this year.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange dropped 1.5 percent to 2,765.07 despite a 0.6 percent rise in the real estate market. Most other sectors were lower with banking down 2.8 percent and energy dropping 4.6 percent.
The ADX has lost 16.8 percent over the week.
The Doha Securities Market retreated 2.6 percent to 5,886.12 points, a weekly drop of 20.5 percent. The Muscat Securities Market lost 2.4 percent and the Bahrain Stock Exchange 0.9 percent.
The Saudi market, the largest in the Arab world, closed the week on Wednesday slightly up on the day but down 10 percent on the week.
