Global Investment House – Kuwait- GCC Market Review – for the month of June 2008- During June-08, all the regional markets declined with the sole exception of Kuwait which gained 1.4% during the month. Qatar market, which has registered highest YTD gain among all GCC markets, remained almost flat during the month. Even Bahrain market also ended the month on a flat note. Global Bahraini Stocks Index declined marginally by 0.1% during the month to reach 224.0 points.
During the month, the growth trend in Oman market was reversed. MSM Index declined by 2.0%, highest among all markets, to reach 11,323.0 points at the end of June. Though the trading activity in the regional markets improved the month, most of markets ended in negative territories taking cue from international markets. However, we expect the investors to take up new positions in the market on the basis of second quarter results, which has already started to trickle in. We expect good corporate profitability for the quarter and this should drive the market in the short-term.
GCC bourses saw 29.9bn shares being traded in the month of June-08 as compared to 26.5bn shares recorded in the previous month. Similarly, the value of shares traded on the bourses increased to US$100.2bn in June-08 as compared to US$75.4bn reported in the previous month.
© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
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