By: Mahmoud Gamal

Mubasher: There are ten tips for investors in the GCC markets to avoid losses in the coming months in line with the volatile global stock markets, the end of interim financial disclosures, and the unclear geopolitical scene in the region as the end of the year is approaching, analysts told Mubasher.

By the end of Tuesday’s trading sessions, most of the GCC markets fell, topped by the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), following the end of the earnings season for the first nine months of the year.

At the global level, the stock markets plunged yesterday as the US stocks recorded a sharp decline and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 550 points.

Additionally, the oil prices deepened losses Tuesday, closing 7% down as Nymex crude hit lowest in 13 months.

Current investors in the GCC markets should not invest more than 20% of their assets in the stocks in return of keeping adequate liquidity that makes them able to reimburse the financial deficit, managing director of asset management at Menacorp Tariq Qaqish said.

Traders also should not invest in one asset or one stock market, but they have to diversify their investments across the GCC markets and not to invest in their market only, Qaqish he added.

He also explained that traders have to realise the strong connection between the GCC markets’ performance and the current plunge of the global markets in the meantime.

Investors in the GCC markets shall know the impact of the oil prices on the stocks in the region and that is why they have to diversify their investments in the different economic sectors, he indicated.

The fourth advice is to monitor the current geopolitical scene and invest in the stable countries’ markets in the region, such as the UAE, Qaqish noted.

He pointed out that traders have to choose the right time for investments in stocks, explaining that sometimes it is not good to trade on stocks with exaggerated evaluations.

He further noted that investors should monitor the country’s spending policy and the annual general budget that reveal the government directions and the projects it will support to direct their investments to listed firms anticipating government-supported project.

As for the seventh advice, he highlighted the importance of investing in the technology and investment sectors to keep pace with the remarkable change witnessed by the global firms in this field.

Qaqish also advised investors, who do not have the ability to analyse, to appoint the authorised companies in their countries to manage their portfolios in the stock markets.

Dividends

For his part, Al-Sharhan Centre's general manager Gamal Agag said that investors should focus on possible annual dividend distribution after some listed firms posted negative financial results for the first nine months of the year.

Investors should also focus on companies that distribute good dividends, Agag added, recommending that they should not follow rumours.

He also advised investors to set plans and invest in stocks with positive operational performance.

Translated by: Mai Ezz El-Din