Foreign Investors Sold Stocks Worth Dhs15.1bn On Dubai’s Index In June

The value of stocks sold by foreign investors in Dubai Financial Market (DFM) during June amounted to Dhs15.1 billion, comprising 42.4 per cent of the total traded value, the bourse said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the value of stocks traded by foreign investors in Dubai Financial Market (DFM) reached Dhs17.2 billion in June, constituting 48.3 per cent of the total traded value.

Net foreign investment in-flow reached Dhs2.1 billion last month despite market volatility, DFM said.

Arabs and GCC nationals were the net buyers on DFM in June while UAE nationals were the net sellers. Net buying among Arab investors amounted to Dhs1.2 billion while GCC nationals bought stocks worth Dhs138 million. Other investors purchased Dubai stocks worth Dhs780 million in the last month.

“Market activity during the month of June indicates that investment decisions of foreign investors are derived from the sound fundamentals of the national economy as well as the strong and sustainable performance of DFM-listed companies,” the DFM said in the statement.

“These decisions are based on analysing the economic fundamentals rather than any rumours or regional developments.”

Shares in Dubai contractor Arabtec began sliding last month after speculation rose that the company was looking to delist and that its main stakeholder, Abu Dhabi fund Aabar, was reducing its stake in Arabtec. News of the departure of Arabtec CEO Hassan Ismaik, who is also a major shareholder in the firm, further triggered uncertainty among investors that led to frantic margin selling in the market. Shares in the company have plunged over 60 per cent from a record high in May.

Arabtec also dragged down the entire market, with the DFM general index falling 22.5 per cent to 3942.8 points by the end of June, compared to 5087.5 points by the end of May. Market capitalisation also decreased at the end of June by 19.8 per cent to reach Dhs292.7 billion.

In addition, the value of shares traded during June fell 23.4 per cent to reach Dhs35.6 billion, while the number of shares traded decreased by 1.7 per cent month-on-month to reach 12.4 billion shares.

The number of transactions executed during June also fell by 7.6 per cent, the DFM report said.

Notably, real estate and construction were the most traded stocks last month in terms of value, at Dhs26.5 billion.