KAMCO report says GCC market activity down in June

KUWAIT, July 2 (KUNA) -- Market activity declined in most of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets in June, with overall value traded in the region receding 14 percent to USD 20 billion, a recent report said.
Softer oil prices that was down more than 8 percent during the month, added bearish pressure on the markets although other positive factors muted the impact, the latest report by Kuwait-based KAMCO Investment Company added on Sunday.
On Saudi Arabia, the report said that after reporting muted performance for the previous two months, the Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) bounced 8.1 percent in June, recording the best monthly performance in the GCC after global index compiler MSCI said it would consider the Kingdom for an upgrade to emerging market status.
The MSCI GCC index also gained 4.9 percent during the month following solid gains in Saudi Arabia and marginal gains in the UAE.
In Kuwait, the report said that the Kuwaiti indices declined for the third consecutive month during June, largely reflecting lack of catalysts, as the Weighted index declined by 1.3 percent and closed below the psychologically important 400 point mark at 399.33 points.
The Price index witnessed marginal decline of 0.3 percent indicating a focus on selling large-cap stocks by investors during the month.
Nevertheless, Kuwait continues to be the best performing market in the GCC with a robust year-to-date (YTD) return of 17.7 percent for the Price Index while that of the Weighted index stood at 5.1 percent, KAMCO the report noted.
The large-cap Kuwait 15 Index also declined by 0.6 percent after undergoing the scheduled bi-annual change in constituents during June.
In the UAE, Dubai was the only other market apart from Saudi Arabia that recorded positive performance during June. The benchmark DFM General Index surged 1.6 percdent during the month after four consecutive months of declined.
In Bahrain, the All Share Index declined for the third consecutive month, albeit marginally by 0.7 percent in June closing at 1,310.0 points. The index stayed afloat for most part of the month but sank especially during the last few trading sessions by almost 1.1 percent to close the month in the red.
Nevertheless, gains recording during the first quarter of the year has enabled the index to stay in the green zone in terms of YTD-17 returns that stood at 7.3 percent, the second highest in the GCC after Kuwait.
Qatar exchange witnessed the fourth consecutive month of decline in June as the QE20 index to a 17-month low level of 8,777.73 points, Kamco said. (end) fh.ht.msa