Regional Markets To Follow Developments On OPEC+ Deal

Regional Markets To Follow Developments On OPEC+ Deal

Global equity markets recorded a negative performance during the week as economic indicators have started reflecting meaningful impact to growth, pushing the world into recession in H1 2020 .. Given that the risk-off mode has been playing out within the markets, investors have moved into safe havens including gold, government bonds, and the US dollar to rebalance investment portfolios and reduce overall volatility and risk.. Brent crude prices surged by 36.82% during the week on the back of a report suggesting that OPEC and its allies are working on a new deal for production cuts amid the ongoing pandemic.. For the region, the weekly performance was negative, in line with the sentiments witnessed in global markets, as 6 out of the 7 regional indexes closed in red.. While Saudi Arabia was the only index to record gains of 6.68%; Dubai was the worst performer in the region with losses of 4.77%, followed by losses of 4.62% in Egypt, 4.39% in Oman, and 4.25% in Bahrain.. Going forward, the downward risk will continue to playout as the pandemic paralyses majority of the global economies.. Investors will closely monitor a broad range of indicators, ranging from new infection cases to economic