Ahead of Q2 corporate earnings results, GCC equities showed resilience with Abu Dhabi (+1.0 percent) making gains for three consecutive weeks, notably influenced by IHC and Q Holding, with IHC, along with ADNEC, offering to sell their stake in some assets to Q Holding in exchange for shares in the latter.
Iridium Advisors reported that Saudi Arabia (+0.4 percent) rebounded modestly, with Saudi Aramco shining on the back of stable oil prices and after reporting estimate-beating results. Kuwait maintained its equilibrium.
However, Oman (-0.5 percent), Bahrain (-0.5 percent), and Dubai (-0.5 percent) all registered identical minor losses. Notably, Emaar Properties and Aramex pulled Dubai down after posting lackluster 2Q 2023 earnings. Qatar (-0.6 percent) felt selling pressure from foreign investors.
Mixed results dominated the US markets. The Dow Jones (+0.6 percent) likely benefitted from robust corporate earnings, yet the S&P 500 (-0.3 percent) and Nasdaq Composite (-1.9 percent) suffered due to China’s weak export-import data, Moody’s downgrading 10 small and mid-sized banks, and a slightly higher-than-estimated rise in producer price. Europe mirrored this divergence: The CAC40 slightly rose (+0.3 percent), the
FTSE100 (-0.5 percent) and DAX (-0.8 percent) descended, while STOXX600 remained unchanged.
Read: Intense corporate week ahead for GCC amid global inflation
The Week Ahead
The GCC equity markets will witness yet another busy week of corporate activities. Earnings releases from Abu Dhabi Ports, Agility, Al Meera, Aram Group, Bank ABC, BASREC, BILDCO, DNI, Elm, GISS, GMPC, HAYAH, Humansoft, IFA, Ithmaar, KIPCO, Mannai, NAEEM Holding, NGI, NREC, RPM, UGH, UGIC, Union Insurance, Watania, and several others are expected this week. Furthermore, Cineco, DOHI, Ezdan Holding, FINCORP, GFH, Lesha Bank, NBB, Salam International, Salik, SHRQ, SSPW, SUWP, and other will host their 2Q 2023 earnings calls.
Global markets – Awaiting FOMC minutes on July 26th
In the US, the street will focus on retail sales data which is expected to show a pickup driven by Amazon prime day. Housing data is also expected to show an improvement for both starts and building permits. Investors will also focus on minutes from the FOMC policy meeting on July 26th. In the EU, inflationary readings take center stage while the industry expects inflation numbers to be in line with estimates.
The UK gears up for a data[1]driven week featuring job stats, inflation figures, and retail sales intel.
SWFs
The wealth surge among GCC-based sovereign wealth funds (SWF) is hard to ignore. Assets under management swelled by 20 percent in the recent two years, touching the $4 trillion mark, according to S&P Global’s reference to the Global SWF Data Platform. This growth spurt, in part, results from the EU’s oil supply halt from Russia post its Ukraine incursion. The findings highlight that GCC SWFs now commandeer a whopping 37 percent share of global SWF assets, a trajectory predicted to ascend as investments flow towards Asia, particularly India, and China.
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