All GCC equity markets plunged in May tracking global cues

All GCC equity markets plunged in May tracking global cues

Nevertheless, the GCC aggregate index remained in the green zone in terms of year-to-date (YTD) performance, up 12 percent, with gains for all the seven benchmarks.

In terms of sector performance, the declines were led by heavyweight sectors. Only the GCC F&B index showed noticeable gains during the month at 2.7 percent and the Energy index was up by less than one percent.

UAE

Abu Dhabi’s FTSE ADX index was the best performing market in the GCC during May despite slipping a shade to 10,054.9 points.

The exchange’s market capitalisation rose 0.7 percent to reach 1.9 trillion dirhams.

The Consumer Staples index recorded an increase of 13.5 percent--the largest monthly gain among the indices--driven mainly by Agthia and National Corp for Tourism and Hotels which saw gains of 15.7 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively.

Trading activity fell during the month. Total volume of shares traded fell to 4.9 billion shares compared to 7.9 billion shares in the previous month. Total value fell 29 percent to reach 30 billion dirhams.

Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index saw the biggest declines in May, ending the positive run seen over the previous seven months. The benchmark closed at 3,347.24 points, down 10 percent.

Six out of nine sectoral indices fell, including