Global equity markets closed the week on a negative note as investors turn cautious ahead of the start of the earnings season. The export data from China and the progress in talks between the US and China have eased some of the fears of slowing global growth during the week.
Moreover, the central banks are also changing their stance on monetary policy and adopting a more cautious approach for the year. Brent crude oil prices rose by 1.72% during the week on the back of continued supply tightening and sanctions on Iran and Venezuela.
For the regional markets, the performance was positive with 7 out of 8 indexes closing in green, while Egypt was the only index to close in red. Bahrain was the best performing index regionally with gains of 1.35%, followed by gains of 1.15% in Kuwait and 1.12% in Oman, while Egypt recorded losses of 0.93%.
Going forward, investors will be following regional quarterly earnings to project growth metrics. Moreover, the rising oil prices is also positive for the regional markets as it leads to higher government receipts, which will be mobilized into the economy through public spending.
| Indexes | Last | WTD (%) | MTD (%) | YTD (%) | |
| Dubai (DFMGI) | ▲ | 2,790.16 | 0.50% | 5.89% | 10.29% |
| Abu Dhabi (ADSMI) | ▲ | 5,052.34 | 0.40% | -0.44% | 2.79% |
| Saudi (SASEIDX) | ▲ | 9,087.97 | 0.27% | 3.04% | 16.11% |
| Kuwait (KWSE) | ▲ | 5,013.25 | 1.15% | 5.03% | 5.80% |
| Egypt (EGX30) | ▼ | 15,105.96 | -0.93% | 2.50% | 15.88% |
| Bahrain (BHSEIDX) | ▲ | 1,438.48 | 1.35% | 1.78% | 7.57% |
| Oman (MSM30) | ▲ | 3,983.79 | 1.12% | 0.00% | -7.86% |
| Commodities | Value | WTD (%) | MTD (%) | YTD (%) | |
| Gold (s/OZ) | ▼ | 1290 | -0.10% | -0.15% | 0.57% |
| Silver ($/Oz) | ▼ | 14.95 | -0.86% | -1.22% | -3.42% |
| WTI ($/bbl) | ▲ | 63.89 | 1.28% | 6.24% | 40.70% |
| Natural Gas | ▼ | 2.66 | -0.15% | -0.08% | -9.52% |
| OPEC Oil ($/bl) | ▲ | 71.55 | 1.72% | 4.62% | 32.99% |
| Copper ($/MT) | ▼ | 6444.94 | -0.85% | 0.50% | 6.82% |
| Aluminium ($/MT) | ▼ | 1866 | -1.48% | -2.51% | 1.25% |
| FX Rates | Value | WTD (%) | MTD (%) | YTD (%) | |
| USD/AED | ▲ | 3.6728 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| USD/SAR | ▲ | 3.7503 | 0.00% | 0.00% | -0.02% |
| USD/EGP | ▲ | 17.27 | 0.06% | -0.06% | -3.30% |
| USD/EUR | ▼ | 0.8846 | -0.76% | -0.75% | 1.48% |
| USD/JPY | ▲ | 112.02 | 0.26% | 1.06% | 2.25% |
