Today's Edition
A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
UAE stock markets made impressive gains in October, with both the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) closing higher on improving sector breadth and heavier trading in market heavyweights, according to Kamco Invest’s monthly review of GCC markets.
The FTSE ADX General Index rose 0.9% in October to 10,099.9 points, lifting year-to-date gains to 7.2%, while the DFM General Index climbed 3.8% to 6,059.4 points, taking its year-to-date return to 17.5%, Kamco Invest said.
ADX performance was underpinned by gains across six of ten sectors, led by Telecommunications (+2.9%), Financials (+1.4%) and Consumer Discretionary (+1.9%). Within the Financials sector, several constituent companies realised significant share price appreciation, including National Bank of Fujairah (+13.5%) and First Abu Dhabi Bank (+11.5%). Real Estate (-5.2%) and Utilities (-4.0%) were notable drags, tempering the headline index’s advance.
On a stock basis, GFH topped the monthly gainers with a 33.7% rise, followed by Aram Group (+31.4%) and Abu Dhabi Ports (+22.8%). Abu Dhabi National Takaful was the steepest decliner at -30.7%, ahead of Eshraq Investments (-17.6%) and Ras Al Khaimah Poultry & Feeding Co. (-11.8%), the report showed.
Trading activity strengthened in Abu Dhabi. Share volumes rose 17.8% month-on-month to 6.25 billion shares, while traded value increased 5.8% to Dh26.52 billion.
ADNOC Gas was the most active by volume at about 0.8 billion shares, followed by Multiply Group (0.79 billion) and ADNOC Drilling (463.5 million). By value, ADNOC Gas again led at Dh2.9 billion, ahead of ADNOC Drilling (Dh2.7 billion) and International Holding Company (Dh2.5 billion).
Market capitalisation edged to Dh3.04 trillion at month-end. Valuation metrics for ADX stood at a trailing P/E of 20.97 and P/BV of 2.63, with a dividend yield of 2.33%, Kamco Invest noted.
Dubai outperformed Abu Dhabi in October as gains in heavyweight sectors lifted the DFM benchmark.
Six of eight sector indices advanced, with Financials up 4.3% and Real Estate up 7.7% —together providing most of the impulse for the month’s rise. Large-weight banks, including Emirates NBD (+15.6%) and Commercial Bank of Dubai (+2.6%), underpinned the aggregate growth of both the Financial Index and the General Index.
Among individual names, Gulf Finance House led the top performers with a 29.8% gain. On the decliners’ side, United Foods fell 17.6%, with Talabat Holding and Shuaa Capital down 14.5% and 14.1%.
Liquidity on DFM was mixed. Total volumes ticked up 0.9% month-on-month to 3.92 billion shares, while traded value eased 7.7% to Dh12.92 billion. Talabat was the most active by volume at 0.7 billion shares, followed by Drake & Scull International and ALEC Holdings at 0.5 billion and 0.3 billion shares, respectively.
In terms of value, Emaar Properties led with Dh4.2 billion changing hands, ahead of Emirates NBD (Dh1.4 billion) and Dubai Islamic Bank (Dh0.8 billion). DFM’s market capitalisation closed October at Dh1.03 trillion. The bourse’s trailing valuation stood at a P/E of 11.15 and P/BV of 1.85, with a dividend yield of 4.73%, according to Kamco Invest.
Looking across the Gulf, Kamco Invest reported the MSCI GCC index rose 1.2% in October, with all markets closing higher except Qatar. Oman led regional performance with an 8.3% monthly gain—its fourth consecutive advance—followed by Bahrain at 5.9% and Dubai at 3.8%. Qatar slipped 0.9%.
The report linked regional equity momentum to improved global risk sentiment late in the month and noted that policy rates were reduced by 25 basis points in the United States and across most GCC markets (excluding Kuwait), providing a supportive backdrop for risk assets.
Year-to-date, Boursa Kuwait remained the best-performing market at 22.7%, while Oman was second at 22.6%, Kamco Invest said.
Kamco Invest concluded that October marked the second straight month of gains for the broader GCC index and a return to positive momentum for Dubai after two months of declines, while Abu Dhabi resumed an upward path following recent softness.
With both UAE markets registering higher closes in October and maintaining positive year-to-date performances, the report’s UAE snapshot pointed to improving breadth, supportive liquidity and continued leadership from large-cap financial and real-estate names.
