Gulf equities ended June in positive territory, reversing several months of losses, according to a report released on Monday. The Kamco Invest GCC Markets Monthly Report for June indicated that the GCC index saw its first monthly gain in June 2024, following three months of declines, amidst varied regional market performance. Qatar and Abu Dhabi led the gains, with increases of 7% and 2.2% respectively. The FTSE ADX index also recorded its first monthly gain of the year, closing at 9,060.73 points.
This monthly gain reduced the year-to-date decline from -7.5% in May 2024 to -5.4% in June 2024. Out of the ten sector indices, eight recorded gains, with the utilities index showing the largest increase of 21.2%, closing at 12,515.0 points, primarily due to a 21.2% surge in shares of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa). The real estate index followed with an 11.1% gain, closing at 9,285.5 points, largely attributed to a 13.8% jump in Al Dar Properties' share price.
In terms of individual stock performance, Abu Dhabi National Company for Building Materials saw the highest increase, with its share price rising by 88.2%. Conversely, Al Khaleej Investment experienced the largest decline, with a 26.4% drop in its share price. Trading activity on the exchange decreased in June, with the total volume of shares traded falling by 36.2% to 4.6 billion shares, and the total value of shares traded dropping by 30.5% to Dh17.5 billion.
The DFM General Index rose by 1.3% in June, closing above the 4,000 points mark at 4,030.0 points. Among sectors, the financial sector index, the largest in the exchange, gained 3.1%, aided by significant gains in banks like Commercial Bank of Dubai and Dubai Islamic Bank. The consumer staples index recorded the highest sector increase of 11.6%, closing at 93.8 points, followed by the real estate index, which grew by 5.3% to close at 7,781.2 points.
