Dubai: Even as global markets react positively to vaccine-related news, investor sentiment in the GCC remains cautiously optimistic of how quick economies in the region can recover to pre-pandemic levels, view analysts at global asset manager Aberdeen Standard Investments.
GCC equity markets underperformed their global peers and witnessed mixed performances across individual stock exchanges in the region for the most part of 2020, but was largely observed recovering during the fourth quarter.
The MSCI GCC index reported a yearly decline for the first time in five years, hurt predominantly by the entire region imposing COVID-19 restrictions with an expected 2.7 per cent decline in GDP rates for the GCC region, as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF).