Today's Edition
A.SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
In a month marked by sharp volatility in global equity markets, the UAE’s stock exchanges bucked the global trend to post solid gains in April 2025, with the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) emerging as the top-performing bourse in the GCC.
According to Kamco Invest’s latest monthly report, both the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and DFM not only recovered from previous losses but also attracted renewed investor interest on the back of improved trading activity and robust sectoral performances.
The FTSE ADX General Index rose 1.8% during April to close at 9,534.33 points, reversing the declines seen in February and March. This pushed its year-to-date (YTD) gain to 1.2%, supported by a noticeable uptick in volumes and value traded. Meanwhile, the DFM General Index surged by 4.1% to end April at 5,307.15 points, positioning it as the best performer among all GCC markets for the month. Its YTD gains climbed to 2.9%.
“The performance of UAE equity markets was impressive, especially against the backdrop of global equity market turmoil driven by tariff-related uncertainties,” Kamco Invest noted. “Dubai led the region with broad-based gains, while Abu Dhabi benefited from strong rebounds in select sectors and stocks.”
In Abu Dhabi, the monthly recovery was anchored by robust performances in the Basic Materials and Financials sectors. The Basic Materials Index led all sectoral gains with a 6.1% increase, powered by share price advances in Fertiglobe (+7.1%) and Borouge (+5.7%). Financials followed with a 3.0% rise, boosted by Multiply Group and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, which surged 28.9% and 14.1%, respectively.
While five of the 10 ADX sectoral indices ended in positive territory, the Utilities and Energy sectors dragged overall gains. The Utilities Index plunged 9.7%, mirroring the share price fall of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company. Similarly, the Energy Index dropped 2.4% as all four of its constituents posted losses. Nevertheless, trading activity was vibrant with the value of shares traded rising 21.5% month-on-month to Dh25.88 billion. Volume also improved by 33.3% to 7.6 billion shares. International Holdings Company, ADNOC Gas, and Multiply Group topped the value-traded chart, while Multiply also led in traded volume.
“The rebound in the Abu Dhabi market came on the back of strong performances from major financial and industrial names, even as energy-related counters remained under pressure,” Kamco Invest analysts said in the report.
The momentum in the Dubai bourse was even stronger. The Financial Index rose by 5.9%, bolstered by a 22.8% surge in Commercial Bank of Dubai and a 16.4% rise in National General Insurance. The Communication Services Index led all sectors with a gain of 7.9%, solely driven by Emirates Integrated Telecom.
Though three of the eight sector indices declined, including a steep 22.7% drop in the Materials sector due to a fall in National Cement Company, the index was lifted by the strong showings from the heavyweight sectors. DFM’s total value traded climbed 13% in April to Dh12.82 billion, while volumes grew 33% to 4.7 billion shares. Emaar Properties topped the value-traded list with Dh3.9 billion, followed by Dubai Islamic Bank and Salik.
According to the monthly stock performance from Bloomberg, Commercial Bank of Dubai topped the monthly gainers table with a 22.8% jump in share price followed by National General Insurance and Air Arabia with gains of 16.4% and 12.9%, respectively.
“The broad-based participation from financial and telecom stocks helped DFM register the best returns in the region, indicating renewed investor confidence in Dubai's growth narrative,” Kamco Invest said.
The solid performance of UAE markets stood out in a month when most global and regional indices faced headwinds from tariff wars and declining investor sentiment. Kamco pointed out that while the MSCI GCC Index slipped 1.2% in April, the UAE’s major bourses were able to deliver net-positive outcomes.
Fundamentally, the UAE markets retained appealing valuation levels. ADX ended April with a trailing P/E ratio of 20.99 and a dividend yield of 2.4%, while DFM posted a more impressive P/E of 9.53 with a comparatively higher dividend yield of 5.6%.
Adding to the positive economic backdrop, Abu Dhabi’s real estate sector continued to expand, with ADREC reporting a 34.5% year-on-year increase in the value of Q1 property transactions to Dh25.3 billion, including a notable rise in foreign investment. Dubai, too, saw tourism growth, recording 5.31 million visitors in Q1, up 3.3% year-on-year, providing tailwinds to sectors such as real estate, hospitality, and consumer services.
