By: Mahmoud Gamal
Dubai – Mubasher: The Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI) increased 0.72% or 24.3 points to 3,394.36 points by the end of January as investors' appetite for speculations persisted.
The weak positions seen by the small and leading stocks have stoked investors' speculations, which in return pushed up the DFMGI in January, Wadah Al-Taha, member of the National Advisory Board of Chartered Institute for Securities &Investments (CISI), told Mubasher.
Banks top risers
The banks sector was the top riser with 1.9% as Emirates NBD jumped 9.8% to AED 9, while Mashreq Bank’s stock levelled up 7.14%.
The consumer staples sector rose 1.46% after the stocks of Marka grew 7.8% to AED 0.594 and DXB Entertainments inched up 0.7%.
The real estate sector edged up 0.6% as Arabtec Holding’s stock surged 9.6% to AED 2.6, while Emaar Malls’ stock gained 8.45% to AED 2.31.
On the flipside, the industrials sector decreased 1.72% after National Cement Company’s stock fell 1.7%, and investment and financial services sector shed 0.3% as SHUAA Capital’s stock tumbled 6% to AED 1.14.
Trading activities during January shrugged off the large cash dividends which were announced by Emaar Properties and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Al-Taha added.
DIB’s board of directors recommended cash dividends of AED 2.22 billion or AED 0.45 per share, which equals 45% of the bank’s capital.
During January, Emaar Properties' stock went down 5.2% to AED 6.58, while DIB’s stock dropped 1.45% to AED 6.1.
Investors on the UAE's two bourses are anticipating the remaining financial results, especially in the real estate sector, Al-Taha noted.
Traded volume's, market cap’s growth
The DFM’s traded volume surged 26.25% to 4.52 billion shares in January, from 3.58 billion in a month earlier, while liquidity increased 12% to AED 7.07 billion, compared to AED 6.32 billion.
The bourse’s market capitalisation grew to AED 403.4 billion ($109.8 billion) by the end of January, from AED 394.07 billion ($107.27 billion) the previous month.
DFM’s performance does not reflect the robust economic situation
Al-Taha indicated that the DFM’s performance and liquidity in January have not reflected the strong economic situation.
GFH’s stock sees large speculations
The analyst commented that GFH Financial Group’s stock acquired 22% of the DFM’s liquidity in January after seeing strong speculations.
GFH’s stock decreased 2.66% to AED 1.46, with a turnover of AED 1.22 billion.
Speculations showed that the GFH’s stock was one of the most actively-traded stocks in 2017, the member of CISI said, citing that the stock topped trades in 2016.
The domestic markets proved that they were not impacted by the global stock markets and oil prices which achieved high gains in January.
Firms' dual-listing
The new dual-listing of companies, especially Ithmaar Holding, does not impact positively on the bourse on the back of the firms' weak annual profits, after suffering losses for four consecutive years.
Ithmaar Holding’s stock fell 3.5% to AED 0.78 since listing on the DFM on 29 January.
Al-Taha projected that speculations will lead trading activities in February, despite forecasting strong profits and large dividend distributions.
Translated by: Mohamed Hesham Azab
