Most Middle East stock markets saw a significant rise recently and is expected to head for the best monthly performance since April amid growing optimism regarding a coronavirus vaccine and a rebound in oil prices.
Main indexes in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Qatar all registered their best months in four, with Dubai’s DFM General Index leading the rally with a 10 percent gain since July.
The Kuwait Stock Exchange experienced its biggest increase since March of 2019, while the index of Saudi Arabia grew 6.5 percent at the end of August.
The gains bring the region’s equity more in line with those of the rest of the world’s emerging markets, which maintained growth last week amid progress toward a vaccine and as the US and China said will remain committed to the phase-one trade deal.
Crude prices also climbed as US Gulf Coast refineries began operations again after hurricane Laura.
The managing partner at Allied Investment Partners in Dubai, Iyad Abu Hweij, told Bloomberg that equity markets are likely to continue their upward trend, encouraged by the liquidity packages being rolled out by central banks and hopes of potential vaccines to treat Covid-19.
He indicated that if Middle East markets hold on to their gains, it would mark a recovery from a phase that saw them lagging behind other developing markets in the previous two months.
The advance this month came as Brent crude traded near the highest level since early March.
