UAE Stocks Soar: Local Market Cap Gains Dh53.2B in October

UAE stock markets posted strong gains in October, with total market value rising by 53.2 billion dirhams across Dubai and Abu Dhabi exchanges. Dubai Financial Market led the surge with a 52 billion dirham increase, while Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange added 1.2 billion dirhams to its market cap.

Both markets closed in positive territory for the month. Dubai's index jumped 219.7 points to reach 6,059 points, pushing above the 6,000 mark. Abu Dhabi's index gained 91.5 points to close near 10,100 points, despite dropping 111 points on the final trading day of October.

Total trading volume across both exchanges hit 79.38 billion dirhams during the month's 23 trading sessions. Investors traded over 20.95 billion shares through 551,663 transactions.

**Foreign investors pull back from Abu Dhabi**

Foreign investors (non-Arab) were net sellers in Abu Dhabi's market, offloading 1.27 billion dirhams worth of shares. They bought 8.65 billion dirhams in stocks but sold 9.93 billion dirhams, accounting for 14.5% of total trading value and 12% of share volume.

UAE nationals stepped in as the main buyers, purchasing 53.24 billion dirhams in shares while selling 51.73 billion dirhams. This gave them a net buying position of 1.5 billion dirhams. Arab investors were small net buyers at 33 million dirhams, while Gulf investors were net sellers by 263.34 million dirhams.

Institutional investors showed mixed activity, ending up as net sellers by 261.3 million dirhams after buying 55.48 billion dirhams and selling 55.74 billion dirhams. Individual investors balanced this out as net buyers of 261.3 million dirhams.

**Market performance breakdown**

In Abu Dhabi, 54 companies saw their share prices rise while 48 declined. Another 21 companies remained unchanged. The exchange processed 487,532 transactions involving 16.448 billion shares worth 64.13 billion dirhams. The market's total value reached 3.111 trillion dirhams by month-end.

Dubai's market showed stronger momentum with its index climbing 3.76% for the month. Trading volume reached 15.25 billion dirhams through 4.509 billion shares across 271,534 transactions. The exchange's total market value jumped to 1.047 trillion dirhams from 995 billion dirhams the previous month.

The October performance reflects continued investor confidence in UAE markets, with local investors particularly active in Abu Dhabi while Dubai attracted broader participation. The strong gains come as both exchanges benefit from ongoing economic diversification efforts and increased international investor interest in the region.