GCC market capitalisation rose 5.6 pc in July, report says

DUBAI, Aug 12:  The collective market capitalisation of bourses in nations of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) rose 5.6 per cent month-on-month (MoM) in July, a news report says.
According to The Peninsula report, quoting Global Research’s ‘GCC Markets Performance’ data, Qatar contributed USD 146.5 billion, accounting for 16.9 per cent of the GCC’s total market capitalisation during the month.
Qatar’s bourse was the third largest contributor to the (GCC) combined market capitalisation of USD 864.5 billion registered during July 2013.
Saudi Arabia’s TASI remained the highest contributor with its market capitalisation at USD 417.1 billion. UAE markets (Abu Dhabi and Dubai) collectively accounted for 17.8 per cent of GCC market capitalisation, standing at a combined total of USD 153.3 billion.
Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain together amounted to USD 147.7 billion of market capitalisation in July, said the report.
According to the data, GCC indices bounced back after witnessing a correction in June. All the markets advanced with Dubai’s DFM being the leading gainer (16.5 per cent), followed by Abu Dhabi’s ADX (8.3 per cent) and TASI (5.6 per cent).
According to the data, Qatar Exchange (QE) crossed the 9,700 mark for the first time in almost five years, as after ending flat in June, QE jumped to a near five-year high to end July at 9,704.98, an increase of 4.6 per cent MoM.
Continued momentum in industrial activity and strong GDP numbers for Q1 2013 led to sustained uptrend in the market.
Robust Q2 2013 results gave a boost to blue-chip stocks, providing further support to the index. In July, all sectors except real estate ended in the green.
The telecommunication sector posted the largest gain of 13.4 per cent MoM, followed by Banking (6 per cent) and Consumer Goods (3.8 per cent). (PTI)