KUWAIT, Jan 1: Kuwait’s lively stock market started 2002 with half a percentage point rise on Tuesday after ending the year up 27pc despite a sharp drop triggered by the September attacks in the United States.

I do not think 2002 will be a bad year but it will not be up to the level of 2001, leading Kuwaiti economist Jasem al- Saadoun told Reuters of one of the best performing bourses in emerging markets this year.

It was up 37 per cent in August from five-year lows in January when the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) saw trading come to almost a standstill with under a million dinars ($3.26) in daily trading value.

The attacks pushed the KSE index below the psychological 1,700-point mark after hitting a year high of 1,810.6 points.

It closed at 1,716.9 points on Tuesday. Capitalization rose 29 per cent last year to $26.67 billion.—Reuters