Local stock markets attracted nearly AED 946.2 million in liquidity, with AED 721.9 million traded on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange and AED 224.3 million on the Dubai Financial Market. This occurred with a total of 278.8 million shares traded across approximately 11,700 transactions, amid generally calm performance of indices and a decrease in liquidity during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The market capitalization of local stocks reached approximately AED 4.166 trillion at the close of trading yesterday, with AED 3.159 trillion for stocks listed on the Abu Dhabi Exchange and AED 1.007 trillion for stocks on the Dubai Financial Market.
Shares of Gulf Navigation continued to capture the largest share of liquidity on the Dubai Financial Market, amounting to AED 60.25 million, with a 1.48% rise to AED 2.74. This was after the company announced the commencement of final engineering design works (FEED) for its first specialized refinery project to produce high-quality gasoline — a naphtha development project to produce fuel that meets Euro5 standards — in Fujairah through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Borouge Investments in Oil and Gas, which was recently acquired. Following Gulf Navigation, Emaar Properties traded AED 44.3 million, while Amanat Holdings reached AED 21.3 million.
The Dubai index closed at 6141.6 points, pressured by some leading stocks, marking a decline of 0.36%.
Amanat Holdings topped the gainers with a 3.25% increase, followed by Emirates Reem Investment with a rise of 3.18%, Dubai National Insurance at 3.1%, Gulf Navigation at 1.5%, and Dubai Islamic Bank at 0.42%. Conversely, United Foods shares dropped by 8.99%, while Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (Bank Al-Salam) fell by 2.28%, Tecom by 2.06%, and Dubai Commercial Bank declined by 1.77%.
Abu Dhabi Market
Similarly, the FTSE Abu Dhabi General Market Index (FADGI) closed at 10,031.72 points, experiencing a slight decline of 0.07%.
Alpha Dhabi Holding was the most active stock in Abu Dhabi, accounting for AED 98.5 million in trades, followed by International Holding Company with AED 80.8 million, and Abu Dhabi First with AED 54 million.
A significant direct transaction involving Two Point Zero shares occurred in the Abu Dhabi market, valued at AED 242.4 million, with AED 90.1 million executed at a price of AED 2.69 per share.
Among the gainers in Abu Dhabi were Al Wathba National Insurance with an 8% rise, alongside Fujairah National Bank up by 2.6%, Ras Al Khaimah National Bank increasing by 2.58%, and Sharjah Bank climbing by 2.3%. In contrast, shares of Oman and Emirates Investments dropped by 3.1%, Sharjah Cement by 3.05%, Arab Banking Corporation (United Bank) by 3.03%, and Americana Restaurants by 2.37%.
Arab Markets
Most Arab stock indices saw a decline, with the Saudi index TASI down by 0.14% and the Qatari index by 0.34%. In contrast, markets in Kuwait increased by 0.18%, Muscat by 0.19%, and Bahrain by 0.03%. Outside the Gulf region, the Egyptian stock index dropped by 0.62%.
Saudi Arabia
The Saudi stock index TASI fell by 0.14%, closing at 10,526 points, with trading volumes reaching approximately SAR 1.66 billion, the lowest since 2019.
Chemical Industries (Kimanol) and Flynas topped the decliners, each losing more than 5%. Shares of Ma’aden, Riyad Bank, Al-Bilad Bank, Etihad Etisalat, Sabic, and Kayan Saudi Arabia fell between 1% and 4%.
On the other hand, CGS saw a rise of 6%, reaching SAR 9.60, while shares of Riyadh Cables, Al-Jouf Agricultural, Al-Drees, Astra Industrial, Sasco, and Dhiab increased between 2% and 4%.
On Thursday, trading on Saudi Cables was suspended, with shares trading at SAR 144.60, totaling approximately 42,000 shares for a value of SAR 6.2 million.
Egypt
Egyptian stock indices collectively declined at the conclusion of Thursday’s trading, resulting in a loss of SAR 6.548 billion from the market capitalization, which closed at EGP 2.951622 trillion.
The main index of the Egyptian Stock Exchange, EGX 30, fell by approximately 0.62% to close at 41,253 points, while the weighted EGX 30 index decreased by 0.36% to reach 50,711 points. The EGX 30 total return index dropped by 0.6%, ending at 18,753 points.
The small and medium enterprises index, EGX 70 equal weights, fell by 0.11% to 13,075 points, while the EGX 100 equal weights index decreased by 0.13% to close at 17,259 points.