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GCC markets

witnessing declines in 2018. The DFM index gained by 9.3% for the year and closed at 2,764.9 points, as sectoral performance was skewed towards gainers. Banks were the top performers and jumped by 32.1% in 2019, led by Emirates NBD, as its share price was up by 46.2%, mainly from the bank’s foreign ownership limit increase from 5% to 20%. Insurance companies and Telecoms followed with gains of 22% and 9.7% respectively. Amongst the laggards, Consumer Staples, which was the worst performing index in 2018, continued its slide in 2019, as the sector declined by 20.4% y-o-y. DXB Entertainment remained the worst performing stock on the Consumer Staples index with declines of 23.6% for the year. The Real Estate & Construction index followed with declines of 9.8%, as DAMAC Properties (-50.8%) and Arabtec (32.1%) were key drivers for the decline. The declining trends in the Consumer Staples and Real Estate indices repeated from 2018 into 2019 and are reflective of the beaten down consumer segment in Dubai. For the month of December ‘19 the DFM was up 3.2% m-om and sectoral performance was mixed. Financials were all up as Banks were up 7.2% m-o-m, followed Insurance (+4.0%) and Financial & Investment Services (+2.4%). Consumer Staples were the worst performing sector as the sector was down 11.1% m-o-m in December ‘19.

In terms of trading activity, the DFM witnessed lower trends in 2019 as compared to 2018, as volumes traded declined by 15.3% y-o-y to reach 37.7 Bn shares. In terms of value traded, total value of shares receded by 14.6% y-o-y to reach AED 50.7 Bn. In terms of yearly gainers, amongst the UAE companies listed on the DFM, Air Arabia led all stocks as its stock price jumped by 57.8% y-o-y in 2019. Emirates NBD and Islamic Arab Insurance followed, as their stock prices moved up by 52.1% and 36.1% y-o-y respectively.

In terms of volumes, Union Properties led all stocks as 5.6 Bn shares were traded. GFH and Salama followed as 4.3 Bn and 2.8 Bn shares were traded. Qatar Exchange After ending 2018 as the best performing market in the GCC, Qatar exchange was broadly flat in 2019. The QE index gained marginally by 1.2% in 2019 and closed at 10,425.51 points, while broader market gains were lower, as the All Share Index gained by 0.65%. Sectoral performance was mixed as heavyweight sectors were amongst gainers and decliners in 2019. The Consumer Goods & Services index and Transport index were the top two sectors for the year, as their indices jumped by 28.0% and 24.1% respectively. The Banks & Financial Services index also gained by 10.2% y-o-y, as multiple index constituents were up in double digits. Amongst large cap banks, Commercial Bank of Qatar gained by 19.3% in 2019, while QNB gained by 5.6% yo-y. Real Estate was the main laggard in 2019 and plunged by 28.4% reflecting the sector’s weakness, as Ezdan Real Estate sunk by 52.6% y-o-y, followed by a 11.3% y-o-y drop for Barwa Real Estate. For Dec19, the QE 20 index gained by 2.7% m-o-m, while the broader All Share index rallied more and gained by 3.3% m-o-m. All sectors barring Transportation (-2.8%) closed in the green m-o-m led by Banks & Financial Services index (+5.4%) and Real Estate (4.6%).

Trading value during this year decreased by 1.16% to reach QAR 67.7 Bn compared to QAR 68.5 Bn. Trading volume increased almost 5X to reach 11.4 Bn shares, as against 2.4 Bn shares.

In terms of trading activity, Qatar National Bank topped the yearly value traded