GCC equity bourses end 2022 6.4 per cent lower, as Saudi and Qatar led the declines

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In what could be widely viewed as a rogue 2022 which had been marred with an unprecedented scale of geo-political turbulence alongside an escalation of worries of an impending recession in the US and EU, equity indices across the GCC (Gulf Cooperative Counsel) ranging from Morocco in the West and Pakistan in the East, fell across the board, while a gauge of major GCC equity markets declined 6.4 per cent in 2022 following one of its largest annual percentage gains a year earlier.

Nonetheless, Abu Dhabi has become the best performing market across the GCC nations with a gain of 20.3 per cent, the Emirati nation has witnessed a havoc-scale influx of foreign inflows throughout the year apart from an upscaled revenues stemming from a higher Crude Oil price, while Oman and Bahrain jumped 17.6 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively.

Qatar leads the decline among major GCC markets

According to GCC Equity Market Index data, Qatar led the declines in the region with a decline of 8.1 per cent, while the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dipped 7.1 per cent, largely dented by worries over a clutch of major Central Bank’s aggressive policy stance.

Nevertheless, the decline has been the Saudi’s benchmark index’s first annual fall after a six-year long winning streak. Besides, Bahrain’s all-share index had reported its second successive annual growth, gaining 5.5 per cent over the year.

However, if truth is to be spoken, apart from major Gulf bourses, global stock indices also had witnessed a withering downward spiral throughout the year with MSCI’s gauge of global stock indices drowning 6.4 per cent over the year.