Gulf shares start new year in upbeat mood, Egypt outperforms | Reuters
Most major Gulf equities got off to a good 2023 start on Monday, with Egypt outperforming regional peers, as investors shrugged off concerns about a potential recession, crude oil demand and the U.S. Fed hiking rates further.
The IMF warned on Sunday about a tougher year in 2023 for the global economy with the main engines of growth - the United States, Europe and China - all experiencing weakening activity.
The new year is going to be "tougher than the year we leave behind", IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on the CBS Sunday morning news program "Face the Nation."
Crude prices, which are highly correlated with Gulf financial markets, swung wildly in 2022 and are expected to remain under pressure in 2023.
A Reuters poll showed on Friday 30 economists and analysts forecast Brent crude will average $89.37 a barrel in 2023, about 4.6% lower than the $93.65 consensus in a November survey. The global benchmark averaged $99 per barrel in 2022.
Hawkish Fed rate hikes many pose another challenge for the Gulf economy as most Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) have their currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar and generally follow Fed policy moves, exposing them to direct impacts from any Fed monetary tightening.
Wael Makarem, senior market strategist-MENA at Exness, said local markets began 2023 with some volatility as uncertainty remains a strong factor, but energy prices could drive markets if the Ukraine war continues and China starts opening up following its abolition of COVID-19 restrictions.
Abu Dhabi's index (.FTFADGI) advanced 0.4% on Monday, bolstered by a 0.6% increase in the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD).
The Abu Dhabi index was 2022's best performer among its GCC peers, finishing the year with a more than 20% gain, after hitting an all-time high in early November.
The benchmark index (.QSI) of Qatar, among the world's top exporters of liquefied natural gas, gained 1.4% on the back of
a 4% hike in Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA) and a 1.6% rise in Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA).
The Qatari index last year posted its first annual loss since 2017, dropping 8.1% in 2022.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) rose 0.3% with luxury real estate developer Retal Urban Development Company (4322.SE) increasing 0.8% and Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) gaining 0.9%.
Among other stocks, Etihad Atheeb Telecom (7040.SE) soared more than 9% after it signed a 77-million-riyal ($20.49 million) contract with Saudi Arabia's Najran province on Sunday.
Dubai's index (.DFMGI) fell 0.2%, pressured by a 1.3% decline in Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWAA.DU) and a 1.4% drop in its district cooling subsidiary Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) (EMPOWER.DU).
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) closed 2.5% higher, with Commercial International Bank Egypt (COMI.CA) climbing 3.1% while Abu Qir Fertilizers And Chemical Industries (ABUK.CA) was up 5.2%.
Egypt's resilient index was the best performer in 2022 among its Middle Eastern peers, posting a more than 22% gain despite facing economic headwinds from the war in Ukraine.
The Egyptian stock market reversed earlier losses to gain in the final quarter after an IMF deal and central bank support to allow lenders greater flexibility in currency trading.
Kuwait: KIPCO completes $538mln six-year bond issue
Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO) announced Monday it has successfully completed its KD 165 million (USD 538 million) six-year senior unsecured bond issue.
The bonds, maturing in December 2028, were available in fixed and floating rate tranches, with the floating tranche attracting 67 percent of the allocation. The fixed rate bond pays investors a coupon of 6.75 percent annually, while the floating rate pays investors a coupon rate of 3 percent annually over the declared Central Bank of Kuwait discount rate, the company said in a press release.
The joint lead managers of the transaction were Kamco Invest and Gulf Bank, it added.
Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO) is a holding company that focuses on investments in the Middle East and North Africa.
KIPCO’s main business sectors are financial services, media, real estate and industry. KIPCO’s financial service interests include holdings in commercial banks, insurance companies, asset management and investment banking.
78% surge in DDF annual sales reflects robust recovery of Dubai Airports traffic
After two challenging years, Dubai Duty Free ended 2022 with a bang as it ushered in the new year by recording a 78 per cent jump in annual sales of Dh6.339 billion for the previous year, reflecting the remarkable recovery in airport traffic.
The airport retailer, which will be completing four decades of exceptional growth this year, said its business recorded over 17.3 million sales transactions throughout the year, or an average of 46,912 sales transactions per day, while 47.302 million units of merchandise were sold.
The sales boom at DDF underscores the robust recovery of the passenger traffic at Dubai International, which has been retaining its status as the world’s busiest airport by international traffic for several years.
Dubai Airports received 18.455 million visitors during the July-September quarter, the biggest number since 17.8 million in the first quarter of 2020. The estimated total traffic for 2022 is 64.3 million after passenger traffic nearly tripled in the third quarter from the same period last year.
Gulf equities ring in new year on mixed note as oil, recession worries weigh | Reuters
Major Gulf stock markets were mixed on Monday, coming off gains in 2022 for most, as investors braced for the new year with worries about a potential recession, crude demand and the U.S. Fed hiking rates further.
Gulf Cooperation Council countries are in the firing line of Fed policy moves as five of them have their currencies pegged solely to the dollar and broadly match U.S. monetary steps, while Kuwait's dinar is linked to a basket of currencies believed to be dominated by the greenback.
Meanwhile, the IMF warned on Sunday that for much of the global economy, 2023 is going to be a tough year as the main engines of global growth - the United States, Europe and China - all experience weakening activity read more
The new year is going to be "tougher than the year we leave behind," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on the CBS Sunday morning news program "Face the Nation."
Crude prices, which is highly correlated to the Gulf financial markets, swung wildly in 2022 and is expected to remain under pressure in 2023 on fears of recession and COVID-19 flare-ups in China threaten demand growth and offset the impact of supply shortfalls caused by sanctions on Russia.
A Reuters poll showed on Friday that of 30 economists and analysts forecast Brent crude would average $89.37 a barrel in 2023, about 4.6% lower than the $93.65 consensus in a November survey. The global benchmark has averaged $99 per barrel in 2022. read more
In Dubai, the main share index (.DFMGI) fell 0.2% pressured by a 1.4% decline in district cooling provider Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) (EMPOWER.DU) and a 0.9% drop in Dubai Electricity & Water Authority <DEWAA.DU].
Abu Dhabi's index (.FTFADGI) added 0.3%, bolstered by a 1.6% increase in AD Ports Group (ADPORTS.AD) and a 2.4% hike in Multiply Group (MULTIPLY.AD).
The benchmark was 2022's best performer among the other peers in Gulf Cooperation Council countries finishing the year with a more than 20% gain, after hitting an all-time high in early November in 2022.
In Qatar, the benchmark (.QSI) was also up 0.3%, supported by its financial stocks but Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) retreated 0.2% with Saudi National Bank (1180.SE) falling 0.8% and oil behemoth and index heavyweight Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) easing 0.5%.
However, Etihad Atheeb Telecom (7040.SE) soared more than 9% after it signed worth 77 million riyals ($20.48 million)contract with Emirate Of Najran Province on Sunday.
