ADX Holds Steady While Dubai Stocks Extend Losses as Property Shares Weigh on DFM

Dubai | EcoPulse24

The UAE's equity markets ended Friday on mixed footing, with Abu Dhabi's ADX General Index closing little changed while the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) extended its decline, weighed down by weakness in heavyweight property and banking stocks.

The ADX General Index closed virtually unchanged at 9,781.59 points, reflecting resilience despite broader weakness across regional and global equity markets.

In contrast, the DFM General Index fell 1.39% to 5,813.93 points, as selling pressure intensified across several of Dubai's largest listed companies.

Abu Dhabi Shows Defensive Strength

Trading activity on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange reached approximately AED 756.3 million, with more than 152.8 million shares changing hands across 17,106 transactions.

Large-cap financial stocks helped stabilize the benchmark despite weakness in selected real estate names.

Among the most actively traded stocks by value were:

Positive performances from FAB and ADCB helped offset declines in Aldar and ADIB, leaving the benchmark largely unchanged.

Among the session's strongest gainers, Bank of Sharjah advanced 5.41%, followed by Burjeel Holdings, which gained 2.88%.

Dubai Property Stocks Lead Declines

Dubai's market recorded turnover of approximately AED 576.3 million, with 140.2 million shares traded through 13,573 deals.

The decline was driven primarily by heavyweight property developers and financial stocks.

The most actively traded shares included:

Emaar Properties alone accounted for more than AED 221 million in traded value, making it the session's most actively traded stock while also exerting the largest downward influence on the benchmark.

Among the limited gainers, Taaleem rose 1.25%, while TECOM Group edged 0.30% higher.

Investors Remain Selective

The contrasting performance between Abu Dhabi and Dubai suggests investors remained selective rather than broadly reducing exposure to UAE equities.

Banking stocks in Abu Dhabi continued to provide support for the ADX benchmark, while profit-taking in Dubai's property sector weighed on the DFM index following its strong performance earlier this year.

Trading volumes also indicate that institutional activity remained concentrated in large-cap names despite heightened volatility across global markets.

EcoPulse24 Analysis

Friday's session highlighted the different sector dynamics driving the UAE's two main exchanges. Abu Dhabi's market demonstrated resilience, with gains in leading banking stocks largely offsetting weakness in real estate shares and allowing the benchmark to finish virtually unchanged.

Dubai, however, experienced broader selling pressure as declines in Emaar Properties, Emirates NBD, and Emaar Development accounted for a significant share of the benchmark's loss. Given the heavy weighting of these companies within the DFM index, even modest declines had an outsized impact on overall market performance.

The divergence also comes against a backdrop of increased global risk aversion following weakness in international technology shares, rising oil prices, and growing expectations that major central banks could maintain restrictive monetary policy for longer. While UAE markets have remained relatively resilient compared with many international peers in recent months, investors appear increasingly focused on stock-specific fundamentals and sector rotation rather than broad market momentum.

Overall, the session suggests that Abu Dhabi continues to benefit from the defensive characteristics of its large financial institutions, while Dubai remains more sensitive to movements in property and banking shares, particularly during periods of heightened market uncertainty.