GCC markets slip into red; falls 2.91% in June

GCC markets were down in June, losing 2.91% after a decrease of 6.1% in May. All GCC markets except Abu Dhabi were in the red. Saudi (TASI) was the largest loser shedding 3.80% for the month, followed by Qatar which lost 3.49%. Dubai has been the best performing market YTD, with a gain of 7.28%. Kuwait lost 0.60% in June while Bahrain and Oman both lost 1.13%, according to Markaz Report for June 2012.

Volume decreased 36% MoM in the GCC and Value Traded also decreased 24% to $37.5 billion. This was on the back of 25% MoM drop in volumes and 38% decrease in Value Traded in May. Saudi Arabia, which accounted for 48% of GCC’s total volume traded, witnessed a 21% MoM drop in value traded.

For the Global Markets, major action was held back till month end when on 29th June after 13½ hours of talk in Brussels leaders of the 17 euro nation’s relaxed conditions on emergency loans for Spanish banks and also a possible help for Italy. Markets worldwide reacted positively to the news and all major indices made gains during the month end. However the late surge shown by the Chinese indices was not sufficient to cover the month wide loss on concerns of a manufacturing slump. Frontier Markets ended on a slightly negative note for the month. CBOE VIX decreased 29% during the month signaling reduced volatility. The CRB commodity index remained flat at the end of the month.
Kuwait Financial Centre ‘Markaz’, with total assets under management of over KD888 million as of March 31, 2012, was established in 1974 has become one of the leading asset management and investment banking institutions in the Arabian Gulf region.