A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and Dubai Financial Market (DFM) registered gains across a majority of sectors in the first month of 2026 despite a volatile geopolitical environment, underlining a resilient start to the year for UAE equities.


The main indices of ADX and DFM closed January with gains of 2.9% and 6.4%, respectively, according to Kamco Invest’s January monthly report.

Dubai emerged as one of the stronger performers in the region during the month, while Abu Dhabi delivered steady advances supported by gains in heavyweight stocks and broadly positive sectoral breadth.


The FTSE ADX General Index ended January at 10,281.76 points, supported by notable strength in real estate and telecommunications. Sector performance was moderately skewed towards gainers, with six of the ten sector indices closing higher.


The real estate sector, the largest weighted on the exchange, recorded the strongest monthly gain of 8.8%, followed by telecommunications, which rose 7.1%.

Kamco Invest attributed much of the real estate sector’s strength to a double-digit rise in Aldar Properties’ share price during the month.

Healthcare also posted solid gains of 5.0%, while financials advanced 2.9%, broadly in line with the benchmark index. Energy and basic materials also contributed positively, rising 2.7% and 1.8%, respectively.

These gains were partly offset by weakness in utilities, which recorded the steepest sectoral decline of 14.8% in January, alongside declines in consumer staples, consumer discretionary and industrial stocks.


At the stock level, Oman & Emirates Investment Holding led the monthly gainers on ADX with a sharp rise of 34.6%, followed by Sudan Telecommunication Company and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, which reported gains of 20.1% and 17.2%, respectively.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank benefited from investor response to its annual financial results. On the downside, Insurance House posted the largest decline with a fall of 15% during the month, while Abu Dhabi National Energy Company and 2PointZero Group also ended January down by 14.8% and 13.4%, respectively.


Trading activity on the exchange moderated during the month following a slowdown in December. Total volumes traded declined to 5.5 billion shares in January, while the total value of shares traded eased to Dh25.5 billion.

ADNOC Gas dominated activity on the exchange, emerging as the most actively traded stock by both volume and value. It was followed, in terms of volumes, by Dana Gas and Lulu Retail Holdings, while Aldar Properties and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank ranked among the most traded stocks by value.

DFM delivered a stronger rally, with the DFM General Index rising 6.4% during January to close at 6,435.4 points, marking a second consecutive month of gains.

Sectoral performance in Dubai was decisively positive, with six of the eight sector indices ending the month higher. Real estate and financials, two of the market’s largest sectors, were the primary drivers of the advance, gaining 8.6% and 5.6%, respectively. Utilities and communication services also recorded solid gains, reinforcing the broad-based nature of the rally. In contrast, the materials sector registered the sharpest decline, while consumer discretionary stocks edged marginally lower.

Several stocks posted strong gains on the DFM during the month, led by Dubai Islamic Insurance Company, which gained 29.2%, followed by Al Ramz Investment and Empower, which were up 21.4% and 14.3%, respectively. Declines were more limited, with losses largely confined to a handful of names including Gulf Navigation Holding, Al Firdous Holdings and Ithmaar Holding, which declined by 11.8%, 9.9% and 8.5%, respectively.

Trading activity on the Dubai exchange improved during January, with total volumes traded rising to 4.5 billion shares and the value of shares traded increasing to Dh14.5 billion. Union Properties topped the list of most active stocks by volume, while Emaar Properties dominated turnover by value, reflecting sustained investor interest in large-cap real estate and banking names such as Emirates NBD and Emaar Development.

Across the wider region, Kamco Invest noted that GCC equity markets recorded one of their strongest monthly performances in several years during January.

The MSCI GCC Index witnessed a monthly gain of 7.8% during January 2026. The gains were led by Saudi Arabia, which posted a monthly rise of 8.5%—its strongest in five years—followed by Oman and Dubai with gains of 7.9% and 6.4%, respectively.

On the decliners’ side, Boursa Kuwait recorded the biggest fall of 3.8% amid profit booking, followed by Bahrain, which declined 1.1% during the month.