Shari'ah compliant companies continue to improve

Shari'ah compliant companies are doing well, according to Dow Jones

The Dow Jones Islamic Market GCC Index, which measures the performance of Shari’ah-compliant stocks for five of the Gulf member states, registered a 2.3 per cent growth in August, said a report.

These indexes were first introduced in 1999 mainly to measure the global universe of investable equities that pass screens for Shari’ah-compliance.

According to data compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices, the conventional Dow Jones GCC Index finished up 1.45 per cent for August.

On the global scale, the Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index, which measures the performance of 100 of the world’s leading Shari’ah-compliant stocks, registered a 1.82 per cent growth in August, it added.

Regionally, Dow Jones DFM Titans 10 Index, which measures the 10 largest and most liquid stocks listed on the Dubai Financial Market, increased 0.14 per cent for the month.

The top three performing Islamic Market industry indexes for the month were technology, consumer services and oil and gas which grew 4.38 per cent, 2.81 per cent and 2.61 per cent respectively, said the S&P Dow Jones Indices in its report.

The bottom three performing Dow Jones Islamic Market Industry Indexes were telecommunications (up 0.04 per cent), utilities (down 0.04 per cent) and financials 0.89 per cent, said S&P Dow Jones Indices data.

The Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures the world’s 50 largest companies, posted an August gain of 1.89 per cent, while Asia/Pacific Titans 25 Index fell 1.52 per cent.

In Europe, the Titans 25 Index rose 2.32 per cent in August along with the Europe Titans 80 Index, which measures the performance of 80 blue-chip stocks traded in the developed markets of Europe, which advanced 4.18 per cent.

In the US, the Dow Jones Islamic Market US Titans 50 Index, which measures 50 of the largest Shari’ah-compliant US stocks, increased 2.19 per cent in August along with the US blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average which rose by 0.63 per cent, said the report.