Today's Edition
A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
The UAE equity markets closed May 2025 on a positive note, with both the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) recording gains, despite volatility in global markets, according to the monthly market report from Kamco Invest.
The combined market capitalisation of the two bourses rose as investors gained confidence from steady earnings, increased liquidity, and sector-specific momentum. The report highlights that both exchanges remained among the more resilient performers in the GCC during the month.
“Equity markets in the GCC region remained volatile during May replicating the trend in the broader global financial markets. Almost all markets in the region witnessed gains during the month, but a 5.8% decline in the TASI (Saudi index) dragged the MSCI GCC index into the red with a decline of 2.6% during the month,” Kamco Invest said.
The ADX General Index registered a monthly gain of 1.6%. The index closed at 9,685.1 points in May, bringing its year-to-date performance for 2025 to 2.8%.
According to Kamco Invest: “Sectoral performance on the exchange was evenly split, with five out of 10 sector indices registering declines, while the remaining five recorded gains.”
The overall gain in the FTSE ADX General Index was driven by advances in the Energy, Financial, Real Estate, and Utilities Indices. The Energy Index posted the steepest gain, climbing 4.4%, as two out of the four constituent companies recorded share price increases, led by a 7.7% rise in ADNOC Distribution’s share price during the month. The Utilities Index followed closely with a gain of 3.8%, supported by a 3.8% share price increase in its sole constituent company, Abu Dhabi National Energy Co, during May.
In terms of monthly stock performance, Presight AI led the gainers' chart for May-2025 with a substantial 32.5% increase in its share price. It was followed by Phoenix Group and Sudatel, which recorded gains of 18.4% and 15.9%, respectively. On the decliners’ side, Al Wathba National Insurance Company registered the sharpest fall, with a 24.8% drop in its share price during May, followed by Insurance House Co. and United Arab Bank, which posted declines of 13.1% and 10.7%, respectively.
Trading activity on the exchange was robust but subdued during May. Total volume of shares traded declined by 8.1%, reaching 6.9 billion shares, compared to 7.6 billion shares in April. Conversely, the total value of traded shares rose by 18.2%, amounting to Dh30.6 billion in May, up from Dh25.9 billion in the previous month. ADNOC Gas topped the most active stocks by volume with 1.4 billion shares traded, followed by Multiply Group and Phoenix Group, which recorded trading volumes of 1 billion shares and 499.5 million shares, respectively. In terms of value traded, ADNOC Gas also led with Dh4.6 billion worth of shares changing hands, followed by International Holdings Company and Al Dar Properties, with traded values of Dh 4.56 billion and Dh2.8 billion, respectively.
The DFM General Index recorded its second consecutive monthly gain in May, rising by 3.3% to close the month at 5,480.5 points. This increase brought the index’s year-to-date performance for 2025 to 6.2%.
Sectoral performance was entirely positive, with all eight sector indices posting gains during the month. The Materials Index posted the steepest gain at 9.1%, followed by the Industrial Index, which advanced 6.2%. The Financial Index improved by 4.4% in May, mainly supported by double-digit gains in several key companies within the sector, including Dubai Insurance Co (+24.8%) and Naeem Investment Holding (+14.8%). Meanwhile, the Real Estate Index — the largest weighted index among the DFM indices — registered a marginal uptick of 0.1% during the month. Slight share price increases in companies such as Tecom (+1.6%) and Emaar Properties (+0.4%) contributed to the overall marginal improvement of the Real Estate Index. The Utilities Index rose by 0.8% with a 1.9% increase in the share price of DEWA helped offset a 5.0% decline in Empower and a 1.1% drop in Tabreed.
According to Bloomberg's monthly stock performance data, Amlak Finance led the list of top gainers in May with a notable 30.2% surge in its share price. It was followed by Dubai Insurance and Naeem Investment, which recorded gains of 24.8% and 14.8%, respectively.
Trading activity on the exchange was mixed in May. The total volume of shares traded declined by 3.6%, reaching 4.5 billion shares compared to 4.7 billion shares in April. In contrast, the total value of shares traded rose by 17.5% to Dh 15.1 billion in May against Dh12.8 billion in April. DEWA topped the monthly trading volume chart, with 994.1 million traded shares followed by Salik and Talabat at 465.7 million and 397.4 million shares, respectively. In terms of trading value, Emaar Properties led with Dh 3.1 billion worth of shares traded, followed by DEWA and Salik at Dh 2.7 billion and Dh 2.6 billion, respectively.
