The best performing GCC stocks in 2010

Stock markets in the GCC region bade adieu to 2010 on a mixed note. While markets in Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia posted yearly gains, those in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait ended in the red.

Qatar Exchange (formerly Doha Securities Market) stole the march over its peers by swelling 24.80 per cent Year-to-date (YTD). Other gainers included Muscat Securities Market up 6.06 per cent, and Saudi Tadawul that gained 8.15 per cent YTD.

On the other hand, YTD Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) slipped by 0.87 per cent, Bahrain Stock Exchange -1.78%, Dubai Financial Market (DFM) -9.60 per cent, and Kuwait -0.71 per cent.

"Qatar market was the best performer, which gave the rally from 6991 until 8681 level and still holds strong," an analyst from CapitalTA, a trading advisory firm on Indian, UAE, Forex, and commodity markets said.

In terms of the best rallies seen across stocks, National Leasing (NLCS) emerged as the best performing stock on Qatar Exchange giving YTD return of 124.09 per cent, followed by Medicare (MCGS) giving 94.62 per cent YTD return.

On Saudi Tadawul, Gulf General Cooperative Insurance Co was the best performing giving 115.03 per cent YTD return, followed by Abdullah Al Othaim giving 53.69 per cent return, the analyst said.

On Muscat Securities Market, 362 per cent YTD return by Dhofar Poultry company was the best, while in Bahrain Stock Exchange, Ahli United Bank was the best performer giving a YTD return of 65.12 per cent.

On DFM, in the active category Aramex was the best performing (28.4 per cent) followed by DSI (11.3 per cent), the analyst who didn't wish to be named said.

Ras Al Khaimah Ceramic Co (RAKCEC) and Ras Al Khaimah White Cement (RAKWCT) were the best performers on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange giving 72.26 and 45.83 per cent returns respectively, he added.

"UAE markets may move in the sideways direction until mid 2011. The recovery can be seen by the end of the fourth quarter until 2100 on DFM and 3000 on ADX, the analyst commented.

Globally, major financial markets continued to recover in 2010, but at a substantially slower pace than in 2009, according to New York-based MSCI, the global provider of investment decision support tools. Developed Markets exhibited the weakest recovery in 2010. Emerging Markets maintained its recovery in 2010, with year-to-date performance of 13.8 per cent for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index versus a return of 74.5 per cent in 2009.

On the other hand, Frontier Markets, which significantly lagged Developed and Emerging Markets during 2009 with a return of just 7 per cent, posted the strongest returns in 2010, as per MSCI.

The YTD return for the MSCI Frontier Markets Index was 18.3 per cent. The strongest regional performance within Frontier Markets came from Africa. The MSCI Frontier Markets Africa Index showed a YTD return of 19.5 per cent. The top performer within Frontier Markets was the MSCI Sri Lanka Index with a positive 73.2 per cent return, while the bottom performer was the MSCI Bahrain Index with a negative return of -23 per cent, according to MSCI.
 

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