Amman - Arab stock markets, which witnessed a strong rally on Thursday, are expected to be vigilant next week with investors monitoring any developments on Wall Street and other global markets, financial analysts said Friday.

The rebound followed a bloody week that reportedly cost the Arab world about 180 billion dollars in losses.

"I believe all Arab investors will assume caution next week, awaiting what is going to happen in the US and other world markets," Nizar Taher, chief of brokerage at Jordan Ahli Bank, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"Regional markets are still gripped with panic despite measures taken by governments and central banks, including interest rate cuts, and reassurances by experts that the Middle East would be immune to the fallouts of the global financial crisis," he said.

The Saudi stock exchange, the Arab world's largest bourse, plummeted 10 per cent on Monday, the first day of trading after the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) continued its downward journey on Tuesday and Wednesday, but rebounded on Thursday after Deputy Chairman of the Saudi Currency Authority Mohammad al-Jasser discounted the effects on Saudi Arabia as a result of the global financial crisis.

TASI plunged 17.4 per cent since trading closed on September 29 for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, closing the week at 6,161.52 points, according to the Riyadh-based Bakheet Investment Group (BIG).

TASI is currently 44.2 per cent lower than the year's start, BIG said in its weekly report.

The report expected Saudi stocks to rebound strongly next week, citing the historically low share prices and the vigorous fundamentals of the Saudi economy.

Jordanian shares also rebounded on Thursday led by the Arab Bank, which assured the market that its losses were minimal as a result of the world financial turmoil.

The all-share price index of the Amman Stock Exchange, however, shed 12.56 per cent this week, closing at 3,562 points, according to the ASE weekly report.

Kuwait's KSE all-share price index gained 3.8 per cent on Thursday, to close at 11,906 points, thanks to measures taken by the Central Bank of Kuwait, including trimming the discount rate and pumping liquidity into the market.

The benchmark of the United Arab Emirates stock exchange in Dubai also gained 3.67 per cent on Thursday, in the wake of extensive losses, closing at 3,198 points.

Egypt's CASE 30 index, which measures the performance of the market's 30 most active stocks, rebounded 3.4 per cent on Thursday after losing about 23 per cent on Tuesday and Wednesday. It closed the week at 5,667 points. (dpa)