A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)

The UAE stock markets made gains in Wednesday trading even as the uncertainty continues over proposed tariffs by US President Donald Trump.  

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange’s (ADX) general index — FADGI — was up by 0.179%, reaching 9,534.11 points. A total of 20,589 trades were recorded, involving 295 million shares with a combined value of Dh1.203 billion. 

The total market capitalisation of all companies listed on the ADX reached Dh2.992 trillion, just Dh8 billion short of Dh3 trillion milestone. Out of the 90 companies traded at the ADX, share prices of 51 companies rose, while 24 declined, and 15 remained unchanged.

Top gainers included Abu Dhabi National Takaful (+14.88%), Fujairah Cement (+14.77%), Hily Holding (+14.73%) and Gulf Medical Projects (+10.00%), while notable losers were RAK Bank (-1.61%), Emsteel Building Materials (-1.53%) and Multiply Group (-1.40%).

DFM
DFM’s general index (DFMGI) was up by 0.202% to reach 5230.83.  

A total of 14,938 trades were executed at the DFM, involving 238 million shares with a combined value of Dh702 million. The prices of 25 companies rose, while 20 declined, and seven remained unchanged. 

Among the top gainers were Al Salam Sudan (+10.28%), National International Holding (+5.26%) and Amlak Finance (+1.79%). The most notable losers included Dubai Refreshments (-9.87%), National Cement (-8.98%), National Industries Group (-7.04%) and Dubai Insurance (-5.18%). 

The DFM’s main index was lifted up by the rise in share prices of Emirates NBD, Emaar and Emaar Developments. 

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) added 0.1% in choppy trade, helped by a 0.2% rise in Al Rajhi Bank. Saudi Arabian digital security firm Elm Company declined 3.2%, after the firm agreed to acquire business services firm Thiqah from the country's sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund in a deal valued at 3.4 billion riyals ($906 million), according to a Reuters report.

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI) rose 0.4%, led by a 4.1% jump in Commercial Bank, after reporting a net profit of 3.03 billion riyals ($832.14 million) for 2024, up from 3.01 billion riyals a year earlier.

Additionally, the bank has proposed a full-year cash dividend of QAR 0.30, representing a nearly 20% rise from the previous year.