Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) was the best performing market in the GCC as well as globally this year with a gain of 45 per cent during the January-July 2021 period.
According to Kamco Invest’s monthly update, ADX recorded gains for the 10th consecutive month in July as the index rose 7.1 per cent in July, the biggest monthly gain in the GCC, to close at 7,318.2 points, a new record high for the benchmark.
Trading activity in the exchange was down during July as the total volume of shares traded reached 667.3 million shares. The monthly value traded was also down during the month, falling 31 per cent to Dh21.5 billion in July 2021, compared to Dh31.1 billion in June 2021, Kuwait-based Kamco said in its monthly report.
Ras Al Khaimah Cement topped the monthly gainers’ chart with its shares up 73.3 per cent, followed by Alpha Dhabi Holding and Abu Dhabi Ship Building Co with gains of 71.6 per cent and 56.3 per cent, respectively.
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index fell for the first time in four months during July 2021 to close at 2,765.7 points, recording a fall of 1.6 per cent. But the decline did not derail much of the benchmark’s overall performance since the start of the year, which stood at 11 per cent, maintaining its position as the fourth-best index performer in the GCC.
The total volume of shares traded declined by 37 per cent to reach 1.8 billion shares in July 2021 as compared to 2.9 billion shares during June 2021. Total value traded on the exchange declined by 49.1 per cent to reach Dh2.4 billion in July 2021 as compared to Dh4.7 billion during the previous month.
In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, equity markets’ monthly performance was mixed in July but skewed towards gainers. All the other regional bourses also gained during the January-July period with Kuwait’s main market index up 19.4 per cent; Saudi Arabia 26.7 per cent, Qatar 3 per cent, Bahrain 7.2 per cent, and Oman 10.2 per cent year-to-date.
The Gulf stocks’ total market capitalisation stood at $3.38 trillion at the end of July 31.
Source: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/abu-dhabi-bourse-top-gainer-worldwide-in-first-7-months-of-2021
