(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUWAIT, Jan 5 (KUNA) -- KAMCO, the Kuwaiti Investment Company, has declared the GCC stock market recorded an annual growth of 12 percent in 2018 compared to the world markets which saw various changes during the year due to geopolitical factors along with the alterations of oil prices.
The economic report of the company that came out on Saturday revealed 2018 experienced the highest performance of GCC indicators (Morgan Stanley Gulf Index) for the past five years as this was a significant factor in the success of Kuwaiti market after its upgrading from the level of a secondary market into an emerging one.
It also added trading in the GCC stocks cost had dropped by 3.7 percent to reach USD 293.7 billion in 2018 compared to USD 305 billion in 2017.
The Saudi market recorded an increase of 4.8 percent in trading cost to reach USD 232.2 billion which is 79 percent of the overall trading activity of the GCC market.
Regarding the sector's performance, the report mentioned the banks recorded highest due to the strong growth witnessed by big banks during 2018, as the total market value of the top 15 banks in the GCC increased by USD 74 billion during this year which is a third of the 2017 year end.
The world market experienced a major setback as growth increasingly became an economic risk, leading to a reduction of growth expectations as a result of US and China trade war which drastically affected the trade exchange up to USD 350 billion, said the report.
KAMCO clarified that the effects of the world market along with the fear of increased supply and higher oil production in the US, Russia, and Saudi Arabia during the past months had led to the severe drop in prices. (end) ah.amh.aq
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