Global Arab Network | Shariah-Compliant Equities Deliver Positive Returns

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Shariah-Compliant Equities Deliver Positive Returns

Global Arab Network - - George Haddad

Tuesday, 21 July 2009 12:14

Stocks deemed to comply with Islamic law delivered positive returns during the second quarter of 2009 according to Standard & Poor’s, the world’s leading index provider.

In the recently published S&P Shariah Report, the S&P Global BMI Shariah Index produced returns of 18.93% over the second quarter to June 30, 2009. This compares to the non-Shariah Global BMI Index, which returned 23.89% in the same period. The S&P GCC Composite Shariah Index returned 27.65% beating the S&P GCC Composite Index, which returned 23.65% over the same period.

Alka Banerjee, Vice President Standard & Poor’s Index Services said: "2009 has been a turbulent year for equity markets, however many indices are still delivering positive returns as certain sectors rally despite the downturn.

"In particular, the S&P Global Benchmark Shariah Index Series has benefited from the recent boost in healthcare and energy stocks. Ironically however, whilst Shariah investors benefited from the indices’ low exposure to financials last year, as they generally do not comply with Islamic law, they did not benefit from the rally in the conventional financial sector over the last quarter."

Mirroring trends in the broader world equity markets, S&P’s Global BMI Shariah Index shows that Info Tech, Energy and Healthcare were the best performing sectors within the Shariah-compliant universe in the Q2, with gains of 20.1%, 19.5% and 16.8% respectively. Conversely Islamic financials, which are Shariah-compliant, contributed to the strong performance of the S&P GCC Composite Shariah Index.

To download a copy of the latest quarterly S&P Index Services Shariah report, please click here. For a complete breakdown of S&P Shariah index performance by country and sector, please contact the media representatives listed below.

S&P’s Global Benchmark Shariah Index Series covers 52 developed and emerging markets as well as ten GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) sectors. It is part of S&P’s family of Shariah-compliant indices, designed to offer a comprehensive set of Islamic investment solutions for both benchmarking and investing activity.

S&P’s Shariah Indices are screened by Ratings Intelligence Partners, an independent Kuwait-based consulting company, which collaborates with the S&P Index Committee to apply a set of independent and objective guidelines for the day-to-day maintenance of each Shariah index. Standard & Poor’s Shariah Indices undergo sector and accounting-based screens that exclude businesses that offer products and services which are considered unacceptable or non-compliant according to Shariah-law.

Global Arab Network

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