GCC markets see broad-based gains in June quarter

Muscat: GCC stock markets mostly witnessed broad-based gains during June-2020, in line with global benchmarks, with all regional stock markets barring Oman closing in the green, according to a new report.
Regional market volatility also witnessed a steep decline during the month, as investors preferred to stay cautious over concerns of the impact of Covid-19 crisis, the Kuwait-based Kamco Invest said in its latest monthly report on GCC stock markets.
Moreover, despite consecutive monthly gains, markets remained in the red at the end of the first half of 2020 at -15.7 per cent year-to-date (YTD), as the 12 per cent rally during the second quarter of 2020 was unable to offset the 25 per cent decline during the first quarter of 2020.
The GCC monthly sector performance was broad-based with gains in almost all the sectors in the green, barring insurance that receded 1.3 per cent. The transportation index witnessed the biggest monthly gains as prospects of the near-term opening of economies pushed the most affected sectors over the past few months including consumer cyclical, real estate, industrials and basic materials higher.
That said, in terms of first-half 2020 gains, only the defensive consumer-facing sectors like food & beverage and consumer non-cyclical were in the green, whereas financial services showed the biggest declines.
Global equity markets remained upbeat until the second week of June-2020 and declined for the remainder of the month, as a threat of a second wave of Covid-19 case pushed the market in the red. Gains during the month remained modest at low-single digits even as economies opened gradually after the lockdowns.
The ambitious plans to restart economies across a number of countries were scaled back as new cases started rising once again with total cases crossing the 10 million mark globally. Lockdowns and travel bans were extended or re-imposed in several parts of Europe and Asia. The threat of a second wave of virus spread kept investors on the toes during the month partially wiping off initial gains at the start of the month.