RIYADH: Stock exchanges in the Gulf Cooperation Council have recorded their biggest quarterly gains since 2009, propelled by a rally in the oil market.
MSCI GCC index, which captures the performance of indexes across the region, went up by 17.7 percent in the last quarter, according to a report by Kamco Invest.
Following the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a volatile energy market saw oil prices soaring to 14-year highs in early March, up 40 percent on a quarterly basis.
The war pushed capital markets into turmoil, but then again, a global-wide recovery was witnessed on the back of peace talks between both countries.
Propelled by gains in the materials and banks sectors, all GCC stock indexes ended the quarter higher, led by Abu Dhabi which surged 17.2 percent.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain were next, all posting gains between 15.4 and 16.4 percent. Dubai rose 10.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, while Oman advanced 1.8 percent.
