Amman- Arab stock markets opened new trading week Sunday by plummeting to new lows amid deepening lack of confidence on inadequate transparency regarding the volume of losses incurred in the global financial meltdown. The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) of the Saudi stock exchange, which is the only Arab bourse that starts weekly trading on Saturday, plunged 3.77 per cent on Sunday, bringing the loss in two days to 13 per cent.
The decline was led by the petrochemical sector, particularly the Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC).
In a remedial step, the Saudi Currency Authority, equivalent to a central bank, on Sunday adopted expansionist measures including trimming the repo rate by 1.00 per cent to 3.00 per cent.
TASI closed at 4,264.52 points, the lowest in five years, analysts said.
"The decline in the prices of SABIC and other petrochemical firms could be understandable because investors take their decisions in response to falling crude prices, but the plunge of other stocks cannot be justified," said Abdullah Barrak, a member of the Saudi Economics Society.
He attributed the continuing bleeding of the Saudi stock market mainly to the "ambiguous standing" of banks, insurance companies and other blue chip firms.
"The managers of certain firms still run their companies with old mentality and refuse to divulge information regarding their companies for a certain reason or another," he added.
Other Saudi analysts attributed the nosedive at the stock exchange to adamant decisions by commercial banks to "liquidate" their portfolios regardless of prices.
Jordanian shares also sank 4.04 per cent on Sunday, led by the Arab Potash Co., the Jordan Phosphates Mines Co. and the Jordan Petroleum Refinery.
Kuwait's KSE all-share price index shed 0.75 per cent in what analysts described as a profit taking move that followed three days of rebound in the previous week.
The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said Sunday that it had obtained the approval of the Kuwait Central Bank (CBK) for re-buying 10 per cent of its shares.
The CBK appealed on Sunday to the investment firms, believed to be the key reasons for the recent plunge on the Kuwaiti stock exchange, to stick to the international accountancy standards.
The benchmark of the United Arab Emirates stock exchange of Dubai continued its downward trend on Sunday, shedding further 4.73 per cent and closing at 1,917 points.
