Amman - Arab stock markets closed the week on a stable course, ahead of a week-long holiday marking the Muslim festivities of Eid al-Adha and the pilgrimage season, financial analysts said Friday.

"Regional markets closed the week relatively stable and we are optimistic that this pattern will persist after the Eid al-Adha feast," Nizar Taher, chief of brokerage at the Jordan Ahli Bank, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"We hope that the concerted interest rate cuts across the world will help to calm down the turmoil that gripped global markets over past weeks and consequently have a positive impact on Arab bourses," he said.

Saudi shares this week trimmed losses incurred over the past weeks, mainly in response to remarks by King Abdullah that the Saudi economy was still "strong" and that there was nothing to worry about.

The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI), the Arab world's largest stock exchange, gained 5.2 per cent this week, closing at 4,654.88 points. The rise was led by the petrochemical and banking sectors.

The TASI is currently 57.8 per cent lower than it was at the year's start, analysts said.

Jordanian shares rebounded this week after plummeting for three consecutive weeks. Taher attributed this week's gains to "buying by foreigners," who sought to benefit from exceptionally low stock prices.

The all-share price index of the Amman Stock Exchange climbed 5.19 per cent this week, closing at 2,795 points, according to the ASE weekly report.

Kuwaiti stocks also rebounded this week, buoyed by reports that the state-owned Kuwait Investment Corporation (KIC) planned to enter the market after the Eid al-Adha holiday, with a budget of about 20 billion dollars.

"We believe the holiday and the KIC intervention will prop up the market after the Eid al-Adha feast," said Maitham al-Shakhs, an analyst at the Kuwait-based Global Investment House.

Egypt's CASE 30 index, measuring the performance of the market's 30 most active stocks, closed week higher at 4,059 points compared with last week's close at 4,044 points. (dpa)