Dubai continued to lead the GCC's equity markets in October, achieving the highest monthly gain among the region at 1.9 percent, closing at 4,591.1 points, according to data released on Sunday.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index sustained its positive trajectory for the fifth straight month, as per data from Kamco Invest. This performance elevated the year-to-date gains for the DFM Index to 13.1 percent, the highest in the GCC, according to a report by Junaid Ansari, Kamco's head of investment strategy and research, Mohamed Ali Omar, associate, and Vineetha K. Yeluri, analyst.

Among the eight sectors, four recorded growth during the month. The overall index surged primarily due to the real estate sector, which saw a 1.7 percent increase in October, closing at 8,458.0 points. This growth was largely driven by gains in Emaar Development (6.3 percent) and Deyaar Development (4.0 percent). The consumer discretionary index led with a monthly gain of 11.3 percent, closing at 1,572.0 points, mainly propelled by a nearly 11.3 percent rise in Taaleem shares. The communications sector index followed with a 7.0 percent increase, attributed to Emirates Integrated Company's equivalent gain in its share price.

In terms of individual performances, National International Holding topped with a 117.3 percent gain, followed by Dubai Insurance and Emirates Refreshment Company with gains of 31.8 percent and 25.1 percent, respectively. Dubai Insurance's gain came after it partnered with Hong Kong-based OneDegree to offer digital assets custodial risk insurance in the UAE, approved by the Central Bank of UAE. On the downside, Takaful Emarat Insurance saw a 53.6 percent decline, followed by Emirates Investment Bank and Al Mazaya Holding Company with declines of 16.7 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively.

Trading activity saw a 9.3 percent decline in total monthly volume to 3.3 billion shares compared to 3.6 billion in the previous month. However, the monthly value traded increased by 7.1 percent to Dh7.8 billion from Dh7.3 billion in September 2024. Emaar Properties led in value traded with Dh2.0 billion, followed by Emirates NBD and Salik at Dh1.0 billion and Dh646.5 million, respectively.

In Abu Dhabi, the FTSE ADX index declined by 1.0 percent in October, reducing its year-to-date performance to -2.6 percent. The utilities index suffered the largest decline at 11.2 percent, closing at 11,283.4 points, due to a 11.2 percent drop in Abu Dhabi National Energy Company shares. Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries topped the gainers with an 82.2 percent increase, followed by Abu Dhabi National Co for Building Materials and Eshraq Investments Co. with gains of 26.6 percent and 15.3 percent, respectively.

Trading activity in Abu Dhabi increased for the second consecutive month, with total volume rising by 115.3 percent to 14.9 billion shares. The total value of shares traded more than doubled to Dh60.9 billion in October compared to Dh30.2 billion in September 2024.

Across the GCC, equity markets showed mixed performance, with four out of seven markets registering gains. The MSCI GCC Index declined by 1.5 percent after four consecutive months of gains, primarily due to declines in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, and a marginal decline in Qatar.

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