Court closes Kuwaiti stock market

The Kuwait stock exchange has been closed until 17 November following an unprecedented court order.
A local court ordered the closure after investors complained that the government was not doing enough to stem heavy stock market losses.
The emirate's stock exchange, the second largest in the Arab world, has fallen 43% since June.
Kuwaiti sovereign wealth funds have bought hundreds of millions of dollars of stock, but the slide has continued.
The central bank has also injected billions of dollars into the system in an effort to protect the Kuwait from the global financial turmoil.
Protests
The court's decision follows recent demonstrations and walk-outs by share traders.
A BBC correspondent said the government faced increasing calls to do more to protect the local economy from the effects of the global financial crisis.
One of the main Kuwaiti lenders, the Gulf Bank, is reported to have lost up to $1bn in failed derivative deals.
Other Middle Eastern markets have also been affected recently, with Saudi Arabia's stock market, the Arab world's biggest, having fallen by more than 40% since the start of the year.
Analysts say investors in the Gulf are worried that the global financial crisis and the recent fall in oil prices could prompt governments to cut public spending - a main engine of the region's economies.

Stocks rallied toward the end of last week despite abysmal news on the economy. This week brings readings on housing, consumer spending and the trade

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The worst monthly jobs report in 34 years failed to send stocks lower late last week, begging the question of whether the market has finally found that elusive bottom.
Not likely, analysts say. But the stock gains on Friday and over eight of the last 10 sessions, despite a barrage of increasingly awful economic news, are certainly notable.
The week ahead tests the trend, as investors digest reports on housing, inventories, jobless claims, the trade gap, producer prices, retail sales and consumer sentiment. All are expected to show weakness. (For details click here).
The week ahead also could bring a breakthrough for the automaker industry, with Congress expected to come up with some sort of proposition to help the Big Three. GM, Ford Motor and Chrysler went to Capitol Hill last week to plead for a $34 billion bailout for the troubled industry. (Full story)
Polls show a majority of Americans don't want to see a government bailout of the automakers - not when so many other industries are ailing too. But economists say the impact to the economy and to the labor market should any one of the companies fail would be devastating.
And the last thing investors need is more abysmal news on the economy. On Friday, the government said the economy shed 533,000 jobs in November, and its September and October job-loss numbers were revised upward. In total, the economy has lost 1.9 million jobs in 2008, worse than what it lost in the 2001 recession. During the week, AT&T, JP Morgan and other companies announced more than 43,000 job cuts.
Early last week, the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed what many have long assumed: that the economy is in a recession. NBER put the start date at around Dec. 2007.
"Given the economic environment we are in and the startling job loss in November, this would probably be as bad a time as I can think of to let the Big Three go without funding," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.
Even with some sort of loan package, the companies will still restructure and shrink, but it's the difference between an orderly slowdown and a fast retreat, he said. And the economy is in no shape for a fast retreat.
Alternately, "if the auto funding matters get resolved, that is going to be a big boost for both consumer spending and the market psychology," said Tim Speiss, head of the Wealth Advisory Practice at Eisner LLP.
Stocks don't need any more bad news. Between closing at an all-time high on Oct. 9, 2007 and the recent low on Nov. 20, the S&P 500 shed 52%.
"The big question is how much of the negative news has been priced in," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "Was that 52% enough?"
Stocks have rallied 16% since that November low. While that's encouraging, Detrick said investors are bound to sell into year-end, with both individuals and professionals looking to cash out.
Last week, investors pulled roughly $12 billion out of equity mutual funds, after putting $!0.4 billion into funds in the previous week. Investors have cashed out of equity mutual funds in 16 of the last 18 weeks.

Asia stocks mixed

TOKYO: Asian markets were mixed Thursday as investors waited for key interest rate decisions in Europe later in the day and braced for more bad news from Friday's U.S. jobs report. Oil prices fell to fresh three-year lows. Japan's Nikkei 225 average fell 79.86 points, or 1 percent, to7, 924.24.Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dipped 0.6 percent to 13,509 points, but mainland China's Shanghai Composite index rose 1.9 percent to2001.5 on news that a government fund announced it had bought sharesin a major bank. New Zealand's share index rose 0.9 percent after the central bankslashed its cash rate by a record 1.5 percentage points. Elsewhere, markets in Singapore, India and Indonesia rose, but those in Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia fell.

Little trading in KSE persists, index ends unchanged

KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) sloppy trading activities continued for the third consecutive day in a row today.The market today also opened on negative note, which remained the order of the day till the closing of the business session, when KSE-100 index unchanged wrapped up at 9,187 points.The volume of business stood at 41,200 shares. Volume leader Habib ADM shares price up by paisa 1 reached at Rs9.75. Experts think that the trading activities in the days to come could remain dull and dreary.

Asian stocks rebound

TOKYO: Asian stocks clawed back some ground in early trade Wednesday after Wall Street rebounded overnight on hopes for a US government rescue for ailing Detroit automakers. Stocks rose 1.0 percent in Tokyo, 1.4 percent in Hong Kong, 1.5 percent in Seoul and 2.2 percent in Sydney, after substantial falls Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 270.00 points or 3.31 percent, clawing back from a 679-point loss the previous day. In London, the FTSE 100 closed 1.41 percent higher, while Paris's CAC 40 added 2.35 percent and Frankfurt's DAX jumped 3.12 percent.

Indian stocks fall in wake of terror attacks

MUMBAI: India's stock market fell sharply Monday, reversing early gains, amid uncertainty over the political and economic outlook after terrorist attacks killed more than 180 people in the country's financial capital.Also weighing on investors were fresh signs that economic downturns in the U.S. and Europe, both major export markets, were weakening demand for Indian-made goods.The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, or Sensex, closed down 252.85 points, or about 2.8 per cent, at 8,839.87 on light volume after opening higher. The index rose 0.7 per cent on Friday after being shut on Friday.While the attacks could keep tourists and foreign investors away, at least in the short term, analysts attributed Monday's declines to a temporary hit to sentiment rather than a loss of confidence about India's economic prospects."There's nobody interested in the market right at this moment," said Gul Teckchandani, a Mumbai-based investment analyst. "Everybody is glued to the television as to what the politicians are going to do in improving security in the city and how they plan to tackle problems going forward."Don't forget, people involved in the market have lost friends and family," he added. "It is playing on our minds, there is discomfort."Adding to the unease, government data showed Monday the country's exports fell 12.1 per cent last month compared to a year ago, further evidence that the global slowdown was taking a toll on India's economy.Shares of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the nation's largest car company, tumbled 8.7 per cent after it reported a sharp drop in sales last month. It dragged down other automakers along the way, with Tata Motors Ltd. and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. losing 3.1 per cent each.Banks were also lower as some investors lost hope that the central bank would cut interest rates further anytime soon.The decline came as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took charge of the finance ministry. He replaced the current top finance official, who in turn replaced a chief security official, who resigned over the attacks.

KSE traded sloppy

KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) today for the second consecutive day remained lackluster, however the volume of trade recorded one hundred percent increase.Trading today remained restrained since the very outset, while this trend persisted for the whole day, resulting in the KSE-100 index wrapping up unchanged at 9187. However, the volume of trade as compared yesterday jumped up by over one hundred percent, as 1,97,000 shares changed hands. Volume leader National Asset shares price up by paisa 4 pegged at paisa 44. Experts predicted that dormancy in the market could end after Eid ul Azha.