A broad-based rally in GCC markets coupled with elevated oil prices pushed the MSCI
GCC aggregate benchmark was up 17.7% during Q1-2022, the biggest gains since Q2-2009.
According to Kamco Invest, gains were supported by four consecutive months of gains in the index. All markets were in the green during the quarter with Abu Dhabi reporting the biggest gain of 17.2% followed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia with gains of 16.4% and 16.0%, respectively.
In terms of monthly performance, the MSCI GCC index was up 5.2% during the month backed by positive performance in all GCC markets during March-2022.
On the sectoral front, the GCC Capital Goods, Materials, and Banks sectors topped during Q1-2022 with gains of almost 20%. Energy and Healthcare followed with the growth of 18.2% and 15.1%, respectively.
Consumer Durable & Apparels and Pharma were the only sectors that declined this quarter by 10.0% and 5.1%, respectively. The monthly performance also saw Materials
at the top with a gain of 9.7% followed by Healthcare and Cap Goods indices.
Trading activities in the GCC stock exchanges witnessed a remarkable recovery in March 2022 and reached their highest level in 9 months at $88.8 billion.
This increase is mainly due to an increase in the value of trading in the Saudi market by 47.1 percent, or the equivalent of $20 billion on a monthly basis.
Abu Dhabi and Qatar also witnessed an increase in trading activities by 43.7 percent and 76.5 percent, or $3.3 billion and $2.9 billion, respectively.
Oil and growth
Moreover, despite recent weakness, the disruption caused on the supply front pushed
crude oil prices to a 7-quarter high growth of almost 40% during Q1-2022. The volatility in oil prices saw prices reaching a 14-year intraday high of USD 139.1/b during the first week of March- 2022 but closed the month at USD 107.9/b.
Globally
Global equity markets also had a positive month with the MSCI World index gaining 2.5% backed by peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. However, a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in China that resulted in lockdowns in several large cities pushed the Chinese gauge down 6.1% during the month while also lowering the MSCI Emerging Market index by 2.5%. The US market was up 3.6% while the European benchmark showed marginal growth of 0.6% during the month.
