The DFM General Index rose sharply in February, posting the third-highest monthly gain across the GCC region. The increase was confirmed in Kamco Invest’s GCC Markets Monthly Report, which noted an increase of 3.4%, ending the index at 4,308.8 points. Despite these positive developments, month-on-month sector performance showed a mixed picture, with five of the eight sector indices declining and the other three gaining
The main contributors to the overall gain were financial services (+5.5%) and real estate (+9.8%), both core sectors Notably in terms of market weight, seven sectors with real estate and five of the households gained, led by Union Properties with a 26.8 % share increase. Similarly, in the financial sector, shares of Dubai Commercial Bank increased by 46.2%, further strengthening the sector’s performance. In contrast, the Consumer Discretionary Index fell 4.5%, while the Consumer Main Index fell 3.4% over the same period.
There was a moderate increase in trading activity on the exchange, with total trading volume up 15.9% to 3.5 billion shares. However, the value of total shares sold increased at a modest pace of 1.2% to Dh7.9 billion. The monthly sales volume chart was led by Union Properties, followed by Shua Capital and Takaful Emirates Insurance.
On the economic front, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce forecasts the emirate’s economy to grow by 5% by 2024, driven by investment in infrastructure, favorable business conditions, and the possibility of lower interest rates and Dubai’s real estate market commanding the year down sharply, 9.6 billion in January 2024 -dollars of sales, up 27% year over year
In contrast, Abu Dhabi’s FTSE ADX index persevered its downward fashion in 2024, falling by 2.7% in February to shut at 9,254. Eighty-one points, exacerbating the year-to-date overall performance decline to -3.4%. Among the arena indices on the ADX, 8 recorded declines, with the healthcare index posting the most important fall of 14.7% in February. Conversely, the real estate index won 5.9%, in general, due to an 8.4% growth in stocks of Al Dar Properties.
In February 2024, Sharjah Insurance Company led the month-to-month gainers chart with a massive 27.4% boom in its share charge, followed by RAPCO Investment and Feeding Company with gains of 21.2% and Fujairah Building Industries with a 17.6% growth. Conversely, Eshraq Investments saw the most important decline, with its percentage price falling through 32.2% at some point of the month, trailed by Abu Dhabi National Takaful and Multiply Group with declines of 25.5% and 21.5%, respectively.
Trading interest on the alternate declined in February after a combined overall performance in January. The general quantity of shares traded was reduced by 1.9% to 5.0 billion shares compared to the preceding month, even as the full value of stocks traded recorded a larger decline of 22.0% to attain Dh18.6 billion. Notably, Eshraq Investments was the most lively inventory all through the month, observed with the aid of Dana Gas and Multiply Group.
In phrases of fee traded, IHC led the desk with Dh4.3 billion worth of stocks changing fingers, followed by Alpha Dhabi Holding and Al Dar Properties at Dh1.9 billion and Dh1.4 billion, respectively.
Regarding economic news, the UAE real estate market remained buoyant, with expected growth driven by ongoing projects. Abu Dhabi’s real estate transactions will surpass Dh5 billion by February 2024, reflecting continued activity in the sector with government agencies aiming to achieve financial diversification
Positive sentiment in financial markets worldwide pushed the GCC market index to its highest level since November 2022 in the third week of January Despite a downturn in some volatility, the MSCI GCC index posted a gain of 4.2 % at the end of the month, fully beating the January 2024 decline
Saudi Arabia emerged as the best-performing market in February with gains of 7.1%, followed by Qatar and Dubai with gains of 3.8% and 3.4% respectively
Across the GCC, sector performance showed broad improvement, with the insurance index leading with a gain of 19.5%, followed by the consumer durables and apparel healthcare indices with gains of 12.6% and 11.4% Leading the way, big-cap sectors such as energy and banks saw low single-digit returns. The 2024 performance to date also saw healthcare and insurance in the top five sectors, with double-digit gains. Despite month-over-month declines in sales prices, they rose to their second-highest level in 21 months.
