RIYADH: Trading activity across Arab financial markets surged in November, with volumes jumping nearly 60 percent, driven by strong performance in Iraq and other regional exchanges, a new report showed.
In its latest monthly analysis, the Arab Monetary Fund reported that the Iraq Stock Exchange led the way with a 131.24 percent surge in trading volumes, followed by the Beirut Stock Exchange, which recorded an 87.83 percent increase.
Other standout performers included the Damascus Securities Exchange with a 71.80 percent gain, Bahrain Bourse with 68.22 percent, and Dubai Financial Market with 54.26 percent.
The surge in trading volumes across Arab financial markets comes against the backdrop of a region grappling with a complex mix of economic recovery efforts, geopolitical challenges, and fluctuating investor sentiment.
While some countries are benefiting from stabilizing oil prices and diversification efforts, others face hurdles such as political instability, currency pressures, and regional tensions
Modest gains were seen in Egypt and Casablanca, which posted increases of 19.08 percent and 0.58 percent, respectively. However, some markets faced declines, with the most significant drop recorded by the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where trading volumes fell by 61.67 percent.
The market capitalization of Arab financial markets included in the Arab Monetary Fund’s composite index showed a slight improvement, rising 0.13 percent, or $5.54 billion, by the end of November compared to October.
Nine exchanges reported gains, led by the Damascus Securities Exchange, which saw an increase of 16.17 percent in market capitalization, followed by the Dubai Financial Market at 5.17 percent.
Other markets, including Casablanca, Iraq, Amman, and Kuwait, posted increases ranging from 3.71 percent to 1.23 percent.
Conversely, declines were recorded in Beirut, Tunisia, Muscat, and Saudi Arabia, each reporting drops of less than 1 percent. Larger declines were observed in Palestine and Qatar, where market capitalization fell by 1.05 percent and 1.29 percent, respectively.
“In terms of contribution to the overall monthly change in trading value, the Dubai Financial Market had the largest positive contribution at 2.18 percentage points,” the report noted.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Stock Exchange made the most significant negative impact, contributing a decline of 0.31 percentage points.
In contrast to the growth in trading volumes and marginal improvement in market capitalization, trading values across Arab financial markets plummeted by 25.11 percent in November compared to October.
Six exchanges recorded increases in trading value, while nine posted declines. The Bahrain Bourse led the gains, with a 154.94 percent rise in trading value, followed by Beirut and Damascus, which grew by 87.97 percent and 58.81 percent, respectively.
Dubai Financial Market also saw a 49.47 percent increase, contributing the highest positive impact of 2.18 percentage points to the monthly trading value change.
On the downside, the Egyptian Exchange experienced the steepest decline in trading value, dropping 32.93 percent, while the Tunis Stock Exchange followed with a sharp 71.57 percent decrease.
Other markets, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and Iraq, recorded declines ranging from 6.64 percent to 18.66 percent.
The Egyptian Exchange contributed the largest negative impact to the overall change in trading value, accounting for an 8.25 percentage-point drop.
