S&P GCC index rallies 1.1% in June

Muscat: The S&P GCC index rose by 1.1 per cent in June and is now up 9.9 per cent for the year, making it one of the best performing regions in the world, according to a new report.
The performance of the S&P GCC index was supported by a good show by Saudi Arabia, following favourable news flows including MSCI inclusion and increased oil production, Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) stated in its recent report on the Monthly Markets Review of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock markets.
On the other hand, both MSCI (emerging market) (EM) and MSCI World were negative for the month. MSCI EM shed 4.6 per cent, while MSCI World lost 0.2 per cent. Other GCC markets were mixed during the month. Tadawul added 1.9 per cent for the month, bringing its overall gains in 2018 to 15.1 per cent, the highest in the GCC region. This is in sharp contrast to the Dubai market that has so far lost 16.3 per cent for the year, the report said.
Zain and Ooredoo were the top gainers amongst the blue chip companies in GCC for the month, rising by 16 per cent and 8.4 per cent respectively, the Markaz report said. MSCI’s decision to include Kuwait for its annual classification review for 2019, which was announced close to the end of the month, proved to be a boost for Kuwait’s blue chip stocks whose prices consequently witnessed a rebound. Saudi Arabia, which was the best performing GCC market during the first half of 2018 with year-to-date returns of 15.1 per cent, had a turbulent month, with its stocks rallying back and forth due to uncertainties over Opec’s oil output announcement and a mild market correction after the MSCI upgrade, eventually posting a gain of 1.9 per cent for the month.
Anxiety over Dubai’s property market outlook weighed in on its equity index as major real estate and construction players such as Emaar Properties and Drake & Scull International posted negative returns, the report stated.