Global equity markets performed positively during the week on the back of upbeat Q2 2019 earnings and better than expected GDP growth during the quarter. Data from Q2 2019 GDP has raised some red flags in some sectors but investors were buoyed by better than expected growth in consumer spending, which accounts for a significant part of the economy. Brent crude oil prices were up 1.58% during the week, as heightened geopolitical concerns outweighed sluggish global demand.
For the regional markets, the performance was mixed during the week as they were influenced by corporate earnings announcements. During the week, 4 out of the 8 indexes closed in green and the remaining 4 closed in red. Abu Dhabi and Dubai were the best regional performers during the week, with gains of 3.25% and 3.17%, respectively, on the back of upbeat earnings from leading banks. Saudi Arabia was the worst performing index regionally with losses of 2.38%, followed by a loss of 1.17% in Egypt.
Going forward, equity markets will be influenced by more earnings announcements and developments in the US-China trade talks. For the regional markets, investors will continue to closely monitor the Q2 earnings to reposition themselves.
| Indexes | Last | WTD (%) | MTD (%) | YTD (%) | |
| Dubai (DFMGI) | ▲ | 2,850.69 | 3.17% | 7.22% | 12.69% |
| Abu Dhabi (ADSMI) | ▲ | 5,387.77 | 3.25% | 8.19% | 9.62% |
| Saudi (SASEIDX) | ▼ | 8,819.00 | -2.38% | -0.03% | 12.68% |
| Kuwait (KWSE) | ▼ | 4,846.62 | -1.11% | 2.32% | 2.28% |
| Egypt (EGX30) | ▼ | 13,510.06 | -1.17% | -4.19% | 3.64% |
| Bahrain (BHSEIDX) | ▼ | 1,522.71 | -0.98% | 3.51% | 13.87% |
| Oman (MSM30) | ▲ | 3,754.76 | 0.19% | -3.35% | -13.16% |
| Commodities | Value | WTD (%) | MTD (%) | YTD (%) | |
| Gold (s/OZ) | ▼ | 1418.31 | -0.46% | 0.65% | 10.57% |
| Silver ($/Oz) | ▲ | 16.39 | 1.13% | 7.06% | 5.86% |
| WTI ($/bbl) | ▲ | 56.2 | 1.02% | -3.88% | 23.76% |
| Natural Gas | ▼ | 2.17 | -3.64% | -6.02% | -26.22% |
| OPEC Oil ($/bl) | ▲ | 63.46 | 1.58% | -4.64% | 17.96% |
| Copper ($/MT) | ▼ | 5991.54 | -1.85% | -0.01% | -0.70% |
| Aluminium ($/MT) | ▼ | 1818.22 | -1.94% | 1.22% | -1.34% |
| FX Rates | Value | WTD (%) | MTD (%) | YTD (%) | |
| USD/AED | ▲ | 3.6728 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| USD/SAR | ▼ | 3.75 | -0.01% | 0.01% | -0.02% |
| USD/EGP | ▼ | 16.54 | -0.18% | -0.66% | -7.39% |
| USD/EUR | ▲ | 0.8986 | 0.86% | 2.18% | 3.09% |
| USD/JPY | ▲ | 108.66 | 0.89% | 0.72% | -0.82% |
