GCC equity markets made small gains in July; #AbuDhabi flies high | ZAWYA MENA Edition

GCC equity markets made small gains in July; Abu Dhabi flies high | ZAWYA MENA Edition

The GCC equity markets reported gains, albeit marginal for the ninth consecutive month during July 2021, as monthly performance, though mixed, was skewed towards the gainers.

According to the GCC Markets Monthly Report by Kamco Invest, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait markets had returns of 7.1 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively, while Saudi Arabia and Qatari benchmarks showed only marginal gains. Dubai, down 1.6 percent, was the biggest decliner.

As a result, the MSCI GCC total return index recorded a flattish performance with a gain of 1 percent. Year-to-date (YTD) gains at the end of July stood at 23.7 percent, one of the best performances globally.

The sector performance chart also reflected the overall mixed trend during the month with a near equal split between gainers and losers. The Capital Goods index topped monthly performance chart with a gain of 10.2 percent followed by Pharma & Biotech and Utilities indices with gains of 4.7 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively. On the decliner’s side, the rally in the F&B index took a break resulting in a decline of 3.1 percent followed by Food & Drug Retailing and Consumer Durable & Apparel index with declines of 2.9 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. Large-cap sectors like Banks and Energy showed flattish returns while Materials reported a gain of 3.2 percent.