Mubasher: The performance of GCC markets remained volatile during September, especially following the recent attacks on Saudi Aramco’s two oil facilities, a report by KAMCO Research pointed out.
Geopolitical events weighed on GCC indices during the second half of the ninth month of 2019, testing investors’ confidence in regional markets.
As a result of the recent attacks, the Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) was pushed to the red territory year-to-date for the first time in 2019, registering a yearly intraday low of 7,589.5 points.
Nonetheless, the Saudi benchmark index reversed its losses to register the second highest monthly growth of 0.9%.
On the other hand, Boursa Kuwait witnessed a negative performance during the month after dropping by 4.4% amid profit-taking on the back of the increased valuations.
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Bahrain Bourse fell by 2.1% and 1.1%, respectively, outweighing gains of other GCC markets, leading to a 1% decrease in the MSCI GCC Index during September.
Sectors
At the level of sectors, banks, basic materials and real estate stocks resumed their downward trend during the month.
However, Emirates NBD’s stock rose by 12.1%, registering a twelve-year high level, after the UAE’s bank raised the foreign ownership limit in its stock to 20%, with plans to reach 40% in the coming period. This led to partially outweigh the drop in the majority of banking stocks.
On the other hand, shares of consumer sectors, such as food and beverage, tobacco, retailing, pharmaceuticals, consumer services, and telecoms experienced low single-digit increases.
Telecom stocks remained volatile, but the overall performance was supported by an 8.3% rise in the Saudi Telecom Company’s (STC) stock.
