The stock markets in the UAE saw remarkable growth in 2024, fueled by a strong economy, increased foreign investments, and a surge in initial public offerings (IPOs). Both the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market experienced notable rises in their market capitalization and trading volumes. This upward trajectory reinforced the UAE’s status as a premier investment hub in the region.
Read more: UAE’s debt capital markets grow 13.1 percent YoY to $294.4 billion by Q3 2024: Fitch
Market capitalization milestones
By the conclusion of 2024, the combined market capitalization of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock exchanges exceeded AED3.905 trillion, a significant increase from AED3.648 trillion at the end of 2023. This stellar performance demonstrated that the local markets maintained the momentum they had built in previous years, solidifying their reputation as one of the most significant investment destinations both regionally and globally. The year ended with an approximate increase of AED257 billion ($70 billion) in market capitalization.
Performance of Abu Dhabi and Dubai markets
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) reported a market capitalization of AED2.998 trillion at the end of trading on December 31, 2024, up from AED2.961 trillion at the close of 2023. Similarly, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) enhanced its market capitalization to AED906.912 billion by the end of 2024, compared to AED687.5 billion the previous year.
Trading activity insights
In terms of trading activity, the local markets attracted over AED449 billion in trading value throughout 2024, with AED342.4 billion recorded on the ADX and AED106.7 billion on the DFM. The total number of shares traded during the year surpassed 142 billion, comprising 90.16 billion shares on the ADX and 51.85 billion shares on the DFM. Trading was executed through more than 7.2 million transactions, with 4.655 million on the ADX and 2.55 million on the DFM.
As the 2024 trading year drew to a close, the FTSE ADX General Index finished at 9,414.460 points, while the DFM General Index concluded the session above 5,158.670 points.
