Most GCC equity markets, barring Oman, reported gains during August, according to the GCC Markets Monthly Report by Kamco Invest.  

The MSCI GCC index posted gains for the tenth consecutive month during the month backed by gains in key large-cap sectors. The index closed at a seven-year high level on 17 August but as investors booked profits, the index receded towards the end of the month to close at 708.48 points, registering a monthly gain of 4.3 percent. This further pushed year-to-date (YTD) gains to 28.6 percent for the aggregate GCC index.

UAE exchanges reported the highest gains of 5 percent during the month. Qatar and Kuwaiti benchmarks followed with monthly gains of 3.2 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.

On a YTD basis, Saudi Arabia’s TASI also showed solid gains of 30.3 percent since the start of the year followed by Kuwait’s All Share Index with a gain of 22.4 percent. Qatar and Oman were the only benchmarks with single digit YTD-21 gains, while the rest of GCC indices showed double digit performance. The gains in Abu Dhabi once again pushed the YTD returns for the benchmark to the highest level among key global markets with a gain of 52.3 percent.

Pharma & Biotech had the biggest decline of 12.6 percent during the month followed by the Food & Beverage and Consumer Durable & Apparel sectors at 3.5 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively. On the other hand, Insurance and Banks were top gainers with returns of 7.1 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively.

UAE

The Abu Dhabi exchange continued positive during August, recording gains for the eleventh consecutive month. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) Index gained 5 percent during the month--the biggest monthly gain in the GCC--to close at 7684.61 points. With consecutive positive performance since the start of the year, the ADX had one of the highest returns globally at 52.3 percent.

Gains during the month was led by positive performance across all sectors on the exchange. The Industrial index which recorded monthly returns of 17.5 percent was the best performing sector.

Trading activity on the exchange jumped during the month. Volumes traded stood at 4.9 billion shares versus 3.45 billion last month. Value traded also rose 34.3 percent to 28.8 billion dirhams.

Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index bounced back after declining in July, notching a gain of 5 percent in August.  The DFMGI benchmark closed at 2,902.97 points after declining during only six trading sessions during the month. YTD the index gained of 16.5 percent at the end of August-2021, the fourth highest in the GCC.

Sector performance was mostly solid. The Transportation index topped the monthly performance chart with a gain of 8.8 percent followed by Services and Real Estate & Construction indices with gains of 6.5 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively.

Trading activity on the exchange improved compared to previous month. Total volume of shares traded surged 75 percent to reach 3.2 billion shares in August. Total value traded on the exchange rose by 66 percent to reach 3.9 billion dirhams compared to 2.4 billion dirhams during the previous month.

Saudi Arabia

The Tadawul TASI index rally continued for the eighth consecutive month during August. The index traded above the 11,000 points mark to close the month at 11,319.2 points; a monthly gain of 2.8 percent.

The YTD performance stood at 30.3 percent at the end of the month, the second highest in the GCC and among of the best globally.

The monthly sector performance chart was split equally between gainers and losers. The Software & Services index topped the monthly performance chart for the second consecutive month, albeit with smaller gains.

On the decliner’s side, the Pharma & Biotech index was top loser dropping 12.6 percent, followed by Media and Diversified Financials indices with declines of 9.1 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

Trading activity improved compared with July but remained subdued when compared with previous months. Monthly volume of shares traded rose 3.2 percent month-on-month (m-o-m) to reach 4.3 billion shares.

Monthly value of shares traded also rose 6.4 percent to reach 154.1 million riyals.

Kuwait

Kuwait’s equity market was up for the sixth consecutive month during August but unlike the previous months when there were broad-based positive performances, the returns last month was mainly led by large-cap stocks.

This was reflected in the 3.7 percent return for the Kuwait’s Premier Market index, whereas the Main 50 Index and the Main Market indices registered gains of 1.1 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. The net impact was a gain of 3.1 percent for the All-Share Market Index.

Monthly gains during August further boosted the bourse's YTD gains making it the third-best performing market in the GCC since the start of the year with a return of 22.4 percent for the All-Share Index.

In terms of sector performance, the Consumer Services index once again topped during August with a return of 5.3 percent followed by the three financial indices i.e. Banks, Insurance and Financial Services with gains of 4.0 percent, 3.9 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.

On the decliners side, the Consumer Goods index witnessed the biggest decline of 4.1 percent during the month followed by Oil & Gas and Technology indices with declines of 3.8 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.

Total volume of shares traded recovered during the month but was subdued in comparison with the earlier months. Total volume of shares traded jumped nearly 57 percent to 6.8 billion shares. Monthly value traded saw an even stronger recovery of 69.3 percent to reach 1.3 billion Kuwaiti dinars in August, reflecting higher trades in large-cap stocks during the month.

Qatar

The Qatar Stock Exchange reported gains during August, for the second consecutive month.

The QE20 benchmark index closed the month at 11,092.9 points, up 3.2 percent, in-line with the performance of the Qatar All Share Index that closed at 3,526.4 points. Gains during the month pushed YTD returns for the QE 20 Index to 6.3 percent, the lowest in the GCC while the QE All Share Index showed relatively higher gains of 10.2 percent.

The sector performance chart for July-2021 showed gains for Banks & Financial Services which added 5.5 percent, followed by Consumer Goods & Services and Real Estate indices with gains of 2.3 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

On the decliners side, Telecom Index was top with 1.6 percent declines followed by the Insurance index that fell 1 percent.

Trading activity on the exchange improved compared with July. Total volume traded on the exchange more than doubled to 4.3 billion shares in August. Total value traded also soared 123 percent to 9.6 billion riyals.

Bahrain

The Bahrain Bourse continued to report gains, continued to report gains for the fifth consecutive month during August. Bahrain All Share Index breached the psychological mark of 1,600 points and closed at 1,645.41 points.

The index touched a 17-month high level of 1,666.54 points on 26 August followed by declines during the last three trading sessions. Gains during the month further pushed the exchange’s YTD returns to 10.4 percent.

Trading activity on the exchange rose m-o-m during August, nearly doubling to 79.2 million shares compared. Monthly value traded also nearly doubled to 20.5 million dinars in August.

Oman

The Omani stock market declined for the second consecutive month and was the only market in the GCC to close in the red during August. The MSM 30 Index showed declining trend since the start of the month only to show partial recovery during the last week. The index traded below the critical support level of 4,000 points during the month and closed at 3,966.7 points with a monthly decline of 1.6 percent. With decline during August, the index now shows the second-smallest YTD gain in the GCC at 8.4 percent.

Sector performance remained mixed during the month with gains of 2 percent for the Industrial index whereas the Services and Financial Indices reported declines of 0.5 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.

Trading activity showed a mixed trend. Total volume of shares traded during the month declined for the second consecutive month by 17.7 percent to the lowest in six months at 281.6 million shares as compared to a 342.1 million shares during July.

On the other hand, monthly value traded rose 6 percent to reach 56.2 million Omani rials as compared to 53 million rials during July.

(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Daniel Luiz)

brinda.darasha@refinitiv.com

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