JEDDAH: The global Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index, measuring the performance of 100 of the leading Shariah-compliant stocks, gained 8.33 percent at the close of March 24 trading. Closing at 1,594.44, in major contrast to the conventional Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, registered a gain of 9.45 percent to 127.28, among the 50 largest companies it represents.
Also on the rise, formerly battered, Dow Jones Index Market (DJIM) and the Dow Jones Islamic GCC indexes throughout the Arab region had a reason to celebrate, weathering the storm of the current global recession to bounce back from previous lows to gain 9.86 percent and outperform its Western counterparts, DJIM Europe Titans 25 Index and DJIM US Titans 50 Index, which reported a increase by 8.95 percent and 7.72 percent, respectively.
The Dow Jones Titans 10 Index, measuring the largest 10 and most liquid stocks on the Dubai Financial Market, closed at 2,082.71, gaining 9.17 percent during March. In accord with the rally across the region, measuring the performance of Shariah-compliant stocks of five of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, the Dow Jones Islamic Market GCC Index closed at 1021.44, a rise of 9.86 percent, compared to the Dow Jones GCC Index which increased by 9.81 percent to close at 1,111.04.
Also posting gains, the Dow Jones Islamic Market Kuwait Index (DJIMKI) closed at 728.32 points, an increase of 11.81 percent.
Commenting on the overall industry performance for the month, Gerard Al-Fil, a financial expert and commentator in Dubai said, “There was one word very often heard around global exchanges picked up from multiyear lows. “‘Finally’, governmental measures of launching multitrillion-dollar-initiatives to bring the global economy back on its feet triggered buying sprees in nearly all markets,” he said in a report adding that among a selection of 25 Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIM) stock indexes, 23 advanced while only two declined with the emerging markets leading the rebound, the DJIM South Korea Index jumped 27.54 percent, followed by the DJIM China Offshore Index, up 22.35 percent and the DJIM BRIC Index, 19.65 percent higher.
Analysts differ if this is a bear market rally which will end in a month or if the March advances are the start of the next genuine bull market.
