Kuwaiti shares cruise past 15,000-point mark

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

KUWAIT CITY (AFP) — Kuwaiti stocks on Tuesday ignored a heated election campaign to rally past the 15,000-point mark for the first time on positive first quarter results and cashflow, traders said.

The Kuwait Stock Exchange Index finished at 15,040.60 points -- up 0.3 percent on Monday's close and 1.9 percent above last week's finish. The index is now 19.8 percent higher than its 2007 close of 12,558.90.

Investors appear to have ignored a heated campaign for the May 17 parliamentary election in the oil-rich emirate which has been dominated by calls for national untiy and economic and political reform.

Traders said the market, which has been rising steadily since the start of the year, continues to prosper on positive first quarter earnings, abundant...