Shariah-Compliant Equities Deliver Positive Returns in Q2 2009
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."
