Spooked by the slide in global markets, the GCC saw broad-based declines with the Bahrain Bourse (BHB) snapping two straight months of gains to close September 2022 in the red.
According to analysis by Kamco Invest, the BHB benchmark all-share index closed last month at 1,882 points, falling 1.9 per cent in the third smallest decline in the GCC.
Noting the reversal was in line with the rest of the GCC markets, the Kuwait-based firm’s GCC Markets Monthly report found that the September 2022 slide dragged down the year-to-date (YTD-2022) returns for the aggregate benchmark to 4.7pc.
The sector performance chart for the month showed gains only for the communications services index among the seven indices in the bourse.
The materials index recorded the largest monthly fall among the indices with a 4.6pc decline to close at 4,800.9 points, followed by the real estate index which recorded a slump of 3.9pc during the month.
However, in terms of YTD-2022 performance, the materials index maintained its lead with 30.6pc gain while the consumer discretionary index followed as a distant second with an uptick of 9.8pc.
The monthly stock performance chart was topped by Batelco with a 0.6pc monthly return followed by BBK which recorded a gain of 0.2pc.
On the other hand, the monthly decliners chart was led by GFH Financial Group which registered a fall of 14.8pc in its share price during September followed by Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Company and Bahrain Cinema Company which recorded drops of 10pc each in their respective share price during the month.
Trading activity on BHB, based on Bloomberg data, declined during September after witnessing an increase in the previous month.
Monthly value traded reached its lowest level since the start of the year at BD11 million recording a 53.1pc plunge from August 2022. Total volume traded during September was down by 26pc to 30.5m shares as compared to 41.2m shares traded in the previous month.
Al Salam Bank Bahrain topped the monthly volumes chart with 6m shares traded followed by Al Baraka Banking Group and BBK which saw 4.4m and 3.8m of their shares changing hands last month, respectively.
As for the monthly value traded chart, Alba topped with BD3.6m worth of shares changing hands during the month, followed by BBK and Al Baraka Banking Group that saw BD1.9m and BD1.4m in value traded, respectively.
September 2022 also saw the GCC aggregate index recording the biggest monthly drop in three months after markets globally witnessed consistent declines due to fears of recession and a strong greenback.
The MSCI GCC index dropped by 7.04pc last month after seeing a flattish performance during August 2022.
The Q3-2022 performance also showed a decline for the second consecutive quarter with a slide of 1.1pc that almost wiped-off gains seen at the start of the year with YTD-2022 gains now recorded at 1pc.
The aggregate decline in market-cap for the GCC exchanges stood at 144.6bn during September-2022.
In terms of YTD-2022 performance, however, all markets in the GCC remain in the green with Abu Dhabi recording the biggest gain of 14.9pc.
The regional sector performance chart for the month also showed a broad-based slide with all the indices in the red.
The diversified financials and transportation indices witnessed double-digit declines during September followed by materials and capital goods indices with declines of 8.7pc and 8pc, respectively.
Banks were the fifth-biggest decliner during the month with a drop of 7.1pc while the energy index dropped by 4.6pc.
In terms of YTD-2022 performance, banks and energy indices continue to remain in the green with gains of 4.7pc and 10.2pc, while pharma and biotech and consumer durables indices showed double-digit slumps of 32.4pc and 25.7pc, respectively.
avinash@gdnmedia.bh
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