Regional equity markets may continue to underperform its global peers

Regional equity markets may continue to underperform its global peers

Global equity markets performed positively during the week, boosted by a sustained buying activity in tech stocks to record gains for the fifth consecutive week by Nasdaq and S&P 500. Additionally, news about potential vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 also boosted sentiments, especially in hospitality and airlines stocks as they would benefit from an expected full reopening of economies. The US Fed Chairman also stated that inflation could run slightly higher than the traditional 2% target, indicating that rates will continue to remain low, which augurs well for the equities. Oil prices increased by 3.29% in the week, shrugging off demand concerns amid the prolonged pandemic as storms threatened US oil production. For the MENA region, equity markets continued the positive sentiments, making August the