GCC stock markets

GCC Stock Markets – Positive earnings growth strengthen business optimism

According to our recently released Monthly Market Review for the month of August, GCC equity market gained by 3.6%. At country level, all GCC markets except Oman registered gains for the month. Globally, equities continued their bullish rally as indicated by the MSCI World Index which gained by 2.3%, extending YTD gains of 16.8%. MSCI EM Index gained towards the month-end recuperating from its mid-month weakness. U.S and U.K were also positive for the month. GCC Markets: Most markets end...

Kuwait and GCC Blue Chip Earnings

Kuwait Earnings November saw a number of blue chip companies in Kuwait and GCC declare their financial results for the third quarter (Q3) of 2020. The earnings of Kuwaiti blue chip companies saw a decrease in Q3-2020 compared to that of the same period in 2019 as seen from the exhibit below. Exhibit 1: Q3 earnings of top 5 Kuwaiti companies by Market Capitalisation Source: Boursa Kuwait; Reuters; Data as of November 29, 2020 Commentary: National Bank of Kuwait: Net...

Stock Market Commentary: Vaccine optimism drives all markets higher

All GCC equity markets ended the month in green as oil prices jumped by 27% for the month after pharmaceutical firms Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca announced favorable news on COVID-19 vaccine development that rose investor hopes of quick recovery. Kuwait stock markets rose for the month with the Kuwait Main Market index registering a gain of 1.6%. Kuwait All Share index gained of 0.3% while its index PE ratio stood at 20, a premium of 33% compared to S&P GCC...

Fiscal Measures Worry Markets

According to Marmore’s recently released Monthly Market Review, MENA markets ended mostly in red during the month of October 2015. Abu Dhabi (-4.0%) suffered the most, followed by Saudi Arabia (-3.8%), Dubai (-2.5%) and Bahrain (-2.0%). Despite the increase in oil prices during October, the lower-than-expected oil prices continue to strain the MENA markets. The regional markets are also responding to instability in the global economy and anticipated monetary tightening in response to low oil prices.  KSA is contemplating spending...

Why is Liquidity important? Some Research Snippets

Liquidity is at the backbone of any market development and GCC stock markets are no exception. Strong oil price backed wealth effect coupled with retail nature of the market triggering speculative activity contributed to very robust liquidity levels in the past, especially before the financial crisis. Liquidity is generally measured as total value traded and is expressed as a % of total market capitalization to arrive at the velocity. A high velocity may indicate that liquidity is running ahead of...