Global equities closed on a positive note for the second consecutive week as investors turned optimistic about the progress made in the US-China trade dispute. Additionally, the positive developments in the UK with regards to Brexit was another factor that supported buying activity in global equities.
Investors were not too concerned about the mixed economic data released during the week as unemployment continues to remain close to a 50 year low, which will help the US economy to grow at a healthy pace. Brent crude oil prices rose by 1.84% during the week after declining for two consecutive weeks.
For the regional markets, the performance during the week was positive, with 6 out of the 8 indexes closing in green, while the remaining 2 closed in red. Dubai was the best performing index regionally with gains of 4.80%, followed by 1.17% in Bahrain, while Abu Dhabi was the worst performing index with losses of 1.00%, followed by 0.18% in Oman.
Going forward, trading activity will be dominated by the developments in the trade deal as any positive outcome could boost global trade and provide much needed support to global economic activity. For the regional markets, trading activity will be influenced by the movement in global equities.
| Indexes | Last | WTD (%) | MTD (%) | YTD (%) | |
| Dubai (DFMGI) | ▲ | 2,890.92 | 4.80% | 4.80% | 14.28% |
| Abu Dhabi (ADSMI) | ▼ | 5,114.09 | -1.00% | -1.00% | 4.05% |
| Saudi (SASEIDX) | ▲ | 8,054.75 | 0.44% | 0.44% | 2.91% |
| Kuwait (KWSE) | ▲ | 4,793.53 | 0.09% | 0.09% | 1.16% |
| Egypt (EGX30) | ▲ | 14,933.18 | 0.66% | 0.66% | 14.56% |
| Bahrain (BHSEIDX) | ▲ | 1,551.08 | 1.17% | 1.17% | 15.99% |
| Oman (MSM30) | ▼ | 3,997.75 | -0.18% | -0.18% | -7.54% |
| Commodities | Value | WTD (%) | MTD (%) | YTD (%) | |
| Gold (s/OZ) | ▼ | 1506.7 | -0.87% | -0.87% | 17.46% |
| Silver ($/Oz) | ▼ | 18.16 | -1.04% | -1.04% | 17.31% |
| WTI ($/bbl) | ▲ | 56.52 | 2.58% | 2.58% | 24.47% |
| Natural Gas | ▲ | 2.5 | 9.23% | 9.23% | -15.10% |
| OPEC Oil ($/bl) | ▲ | 61.54 | 1.84% | 1.84% | 14.39% |
| Copper ($/MT) | ▲ | 5824.07 | 2.09% | 2.09% | -3.47% |
| Aluminium ($/MT) | ▲ | 1779 | 1.59% | 1.59% | -3.47% |
| FX Rates | Value | WTD (%) | MTD (%) | YTD (%) | |
| USD/AED | ▼ | 3.6727 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| USD/SAR | ▲ | 3.7506 | 0.02% | 0.02% | -0.01% |
| USD/EGP | ▼ | 16.45 | -0.30% | -0.30% | -7.89% |
| USD/EUR | ▼ | 0.9065 | -0.35% | -0.35% | 3.99% |
| USD/JPY | ▲ | 106.9 | 0.57% | 0.57% | -2.43% |
