DFM, Nasdaq Dubai trading halves

Dubai bourses – Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai – saw their trading value halved last year due to declining activity in the equity market.

The value of shares traded during 2011 reached Dh32.1 billion compared to Dh69.7 billion during 2010, a decrease of 54 per cent. The number of shares traded decreased by 34.5 per cent to reach 25.2 billion shares during the year, compared to 38.4 billion shares traded during the previous year.  The number of transactions executed during 2011 decreased by 44 per cent to reach 444,800, compared to 794,700 deals carried out the previous year.

However, the market capitalisation of Dubai Financial Market also plunged last year due to shrinking trading volume and value.

According to a newsletter sent to Emirates 24l7, the market capitalisation of DFM decreased last year by 9.5 per cent to reach Dh180.1 billion compared to Dh199 billion the previous year.

In terms of sectoral contribution to trading volumes, the real estate and construction sector ranked first in terms of the value of traded shares, to reach Dh17.7 billion, equating to 55.3 per cent of the total value of shares traded in the market.

The banking sector ranked second at Dh4.1 billion (12.7 per cent), followed by the investment and financial services sector to Dh3.4 billion (10.6 per cent), and the transportation sector amounted to Dh3.1 billion (9.7 per cent). The communications sector handled Dh2.3 billion (7.1 per cent), and the insurance sector amounted to Dh748.2 million (2.3 per cent). The services sector handled Dh702.4 million (2.2 per cent), and the consumer staples and industrial sectors ranked last to reach Dh33.8 million and Dh2.1 million respectively.

The value of shares bought by foreign investors in 2011 reached Dh15.3 billion comprising 47.6 per cent of the total value of stocks traded during the period. The value of stocks sold by foreign investors during the same period reached Dh15.1 billion comprising 47.1 per cent of the total value of stocks traded during the period. DFM net foreign investment in-flow reached Dh164.3 million.

The value of stocks bought by institutional investors during this year reached Dh8.9 billion comprising 27.7 per cent of the total value of stocks traded during the period. The value of stocks sold by institutional investors during the same period reached Dh8.6 billion which constitutes 26.8 per cent of the total value of stocks traded during the period. DFM net institutional investment in-flow amounted to Dh265.5 million.

Nasdaq Dubai

The value of equities traded on Nasdaq Dubai in 2011 was $674 million (Dh2.473 billion), down 48 per cent from $1.3 billion in 2010. The drop was in line with other exchanges in the region, reflecting the capital markets challenges experienced during the year.

Equities traded value in December 2011 was $28.1 million, down 22 per cent from $35.8 million in November 2011 and down 74 per cent from $107.9 million in December 2010.

Individual investors accounted for 5.8 per cent of the traded value of all shares traded on Nasdaq Dubai in 2011. Nasdaq Dubai started routing all its equities trades through the trading platform of DFM in July 2010, in order to facilitate access by individual investors. Individual investors accounted for 2.7 per cent of equities traded value in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange

Bank Audi said in a report that the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange reported a sharp drop in prices of 11.7 per cent in 2011, as reflected by a fall in its index from 2,719.87 at end-2010 to 2,402.28 at end-2011. The breakdown of the Abu Dhabi general index by sector shows that the highest drop was in the industrial with 34.4 per cent, followed by the consumer staples sector with 25.9 per cent, the telecommunication sector with 15.5 per cent, the services sector with 9.2 per cent, and the insurance sector with 7.4 per cent while the banking sector remained stable year-on-year.

The total trading value amounted to $6.8 billion in 2011 as compared to $9.4 billion in the previous year. The number of shares traded was 15.9 billion 2011, versus 17.6 billion shares in the previous year and the total number of trade was 283,368 in 2011 versus 363,471 in 2010. The market capitalisation fell from $69.7 billion at end-2010 to $63.1 billion at end-2011.

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