Amman - Most Middle East stock markets rebounded on Tuesday, propelled by a US plan to rescue the Citigroup conglomerate, a 30- billion-dollar British stimulus plan and improving oil prices, financial analysts said.

Jordanian shares rose for the first time in 10 days, encouraged by the Central Bank of Jordan's decision to slash the basic interest rate by 0.5 percentage points.

Amman - Jordan's King Abdullah II and Queen Rania flew to Qatar on Monday for a state visit that heralds a rapprochement between the two Arab countries after a decade of strained ties.

The royal trip was preceded two weeks ago by a visit to the oil-rich emirate by the Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi who said that the two countries were preparing to embark on an era of economic cooperation that involves the investment of Qatari funds in Jordan.

Amman - Arab stock markets continued their downward journey this week, with financial analysts on Friday citing unjustified "panic and psychological pressures" from the turmoil on global markets.

According to a report by the Kuwait-based Global International Investments House released Friday, the stocks of the oil-rich six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, lost 47.5 per cent of their value, or 538 billion dollars since the beginning of the year.

The report put the losses since the beginning of the global financial crisis in October at 373 billion dollars.

Amman - Arab stock markets suffered heavy losses this week as gloom engulfed the region amid fears of a global recession.

Thursday's suspension of trading on the Kuwait stock exchange appeared to send a negative message to other markets in the region, financial analysts said Friday.

"I believe the halting of trading in Kuwait by a judicial decision could aggravate the situation not only in Kuwait but also at other Gulf and Arab stock markets," a portfolio manager told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Amman - Arab stock markets plummeted across the board on Tuesday as global recession fears and falling oil prices helped to fuel already dwindling confidence and panic selling, financial analysts said.

The plunge was led by the Saudi and the United Arab Emirates stock exchanges where lack of cash and departure of foreign investors reportedly put enormous pressures on the psychology of investors, they added.

The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) of the Saudi stock exchange tumbled 5.21 per cent led by the petrochemical conglomerate, the Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), as well as the banking and construction sectors.

Amman - Arab stock markets reacted positively but cautiously to the election of Barack Obama as next US president with investors trying to evaluate the choices open to the new administration to deal with the gruelling economic downturn, financial analysts said Friday.

"Markets sighed relief over the election of Obama, because markets have been under the impression that McCain's win could aggravate the global financial crisis," Nizar Taher, chief of brokerage at the Jordan Ahli Bank, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.