JEDDAH: GCC stock markets ended on a lower note in May, with the exception of the Saudi market which had marginal gains, Kuwait's Global Investment House said in its monthly report. In the absence of new drives, regional bourses had no choice but to follow the international markets, which declined on renewed debt woes concerning Greece. The Saudi market despite a rocky performance during the month of May 2011, managed to post marginal monthly gains, and was the only GCC bourse to end the month on a positive note. Tadawul All Share index ended at 6,735.98 points, up by 0.38 percent in May. Sectoral performance was mostly positive, with 13 out of the 15 sectors of the market ending the on a higher note. However, both heavyweight Petrochemical Industries and Banking indices performed poorly and ended down by 1.66 percent and 2.49 percent, respectively. On the positive side, Cement index soared by 13.54 percent. News showed that the country's cement sector recorded a remarkable sales growth in April 2011, due to increased developmental plans in Makkah, Madina and Jeddah. Private projects, especially those for housing and schools, boosted demand for basic materials. In March, King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, ordered authorities to build 500,000 low-cost houses in different parts of the kingdom and allocated SR250 billion to implement the project. All cement companies had a positive performance during the current month, led by AL Jouf Cement Company, with its share price appreciating by 40.64 percent, reaching SR17.65. Multi-investment stocks also had a stellar performance, with the sector's index adding 11.33 per cent in monthly gains. Saudi Arabia Refineries Company (Sarco) topped this month's gainers list, up by 56.91 percent, as it ended at SR52.25. Sarco's case to redeem 770,880 shares of the capital increase of Saudi Industrial Investment Company (SIIG) with all rights in earnings and dividend will be reviewed by the Board of Grievance on June 20, 2011. Trading activity increased, with 6.22 billion shares traded, at an aggregate value of SR126.44 billion, up by 24.20 percent and 12.77 percent, respectively compared to the previous month. Among GCC bourses, Oman's MSM 30 index posted the steepest decline down by 5 17 percent for the month. During May 2011, the market's benchmark index closed below the important physiological level of 6,000 points for the first time since December 2009, as stock prices of the market's heavy-weight tumble across the board, as they scrummed to selling pressure. However, it managed to inch up to end the month at 6,007.89 point. The Kuwaiti market also performed poorly in May, posting a 5.12 percent drop as measured by Global General Index (GGI), which is a market cap weighted index. Escalated political tension, poor Q1 2011 corporate results, and the suspension of several companies which failed to disclose their financials by the deadline set by the exchange, were all culprits behind the market's retreat. Trading activity remained around the same level of the previous month. GCC bourses saw 15.86 billion shares being traded in May, as compared to 15.82 billion shares traded in the previous month (+0.25 percent). Aggregate value of shares traded on the respective bourses reached $39.47 billion (AED145 billion) in May 2011, as compared to $37.54 billion (+5.14 percent) reported in the previous month. The breadth of GCC stock markets tilted toward decliners in May 2011, as the share price of 317 stocks retreated compared to 207 advancers, out of 561 traded stocks. Market capitalization of the GCC markets combined stood at $758.50 billion, down by $14.95 billion during the month. Elsewhere in the region, Amman stock Exchange followed the same negative trend, as the GCC stock markets, with Amman Free Float Index retreating by 1.74 percent by the end of the month. Similarly, Tunis Bourse ended on a lower note, with TUNINDEX posting a 2.98 percent in monthly loss. Meanwhile, the Egyptian market, as measured by EGX30 soared by 10.39 percent by the end of May 2011. During the month, Egypt's economy has received a much-needed boost with the promise of aid and loans from the international community. The World Bank has pledged that it will support Egypt with $4 billion in the next 24 months. The US pledged to assist the Egyptian economy with $2 billion, in addition to a $4 billion grant from Saudi Arabia and a $10 billion of Qatari investments geared towards the battered Egyptian economy. Qatari market slumped during May, taking its cue from weakness in global stocks, as doubts about Europe's ability to manage its debt hammered developed markets. This came despite that investors, especially foreigners, are expecting an upgrade by MSCI Index next month. Amid shrinking trading activity, Global Qatari General Index slipped by 1.18 percent on M-o-M, closing at 632.70 points, while QE index plunged 2.03 per cent finishing at 8,375.19 points. The sectors performance was mixed this month as the indices of Industrial and services sectors declined by 4.96 percent and 0.46 percent, respectively, while those for Banking & Finance and Insurance increased by 0.10 percent and 0.08 percent, respectively. Industries Qatar share price dipped by 5.63 per cent, pulling the industrial index lower, tracking declines in oil prices that was affected mainly by the recovery of the US dollar against the euro. Industries Qatar share price reached QAR139.0 by the end of the month. On the other side, the biggest lender, Qatar National Bank, bucked the trend and rose by 1.10 percent, closing at QR138.0, after completing subscription on a rights issue and funds rushed back in. Within the same sector, Al Rayan Bank accounted for the highest activity of 23.23 percent and 13.69 percent, respectively, of the total volume and value of shares traded on QE this month. The scrip fell by 0.13 percent, closing at QAR23.05. Aamal Holding Company topped the gainers list for the month, adding 26.19 percent to its value, after announcing that it will raise its free-float to around 24 percent by offering global depositary receipts in London UAE markets witnessed a bearish trend in the month of May driven by external and macro level factors. The inclusion of UAE markets in MSCI emerging market took the lime light during the month and expected to continue for the next month till the review ends. However, concerns that UAE may not be upgraded due to delay in implementing new payment settlement system, Delivery Versus Payment (DvP), which is a prerequisite for MSCI, negatively affected the markets.
