DFM Best Performing Bourse in July: Kamco Invest

The GCC index continued to show gains during July by earnings optimism for Q2-2025. The MSCI GCC index was up for the second consecutive month registering a gain of 2.2% in July-2025 led by a broad-based gain across the GCC exchanges, Kuwait-based Kamco Invest said in its monthly markets report.

Dubai Financial Market (DFM) was the best performing bourse in the GCC during the month with a gain of 7.9% the biggest monthly gain in the GCC, followed by Oman and Qatar with gains of 6.2% and 4.8%, respectively. Saudi Arabia was the only market that declined during the month.

The DFM’s strong performance boosted the index’s y-t-d return for 2025 to 19.4%, also the highest in the GCC this year, Kamco Invest said.

Sectoral performance was broadly positive, with five out of eight sector indices posting gains during the month, while the remaining three indices recorded declines. The financials index registered the biggest monthly gain in July, surging by 12.1%, followed by the real estate and industrial indices with respective gains of 11.7% and 6.9%.

The growth in the Financials Index was primarily attributed to double-digit share price increases in large-weighted companies such as Commercial Bank of Dubai (+20.1%) and Emirates NBD (+17.3%) during the month.

Conversely, the consumer discretionary index recorded a 4.2% decline, marking the largest drop among the indices during July.

According to Bloomberg’s monthly stock performance data, Ekttitab Holding Company led the list of top gainers in July, posting a notable 43.2% increase in its share price. It was followed by United Foods Co and Commercial Bank of Dubai, which recorded gains of 21.5% and 20.1%, respectively. Net profit for the Commercial Bank of Dubai reached $460 million during H1 2025, increasing from AED $410 million in H1 2024.

The growth was fuelled by growth in both core and non-core income, while lower impairment charges also supported the result. On the monthly decliners’ side, International Financial Advisors registered the steepest drop, with a 9.2% decline, followed by National General Insurance and Dubai Refreshments Company, which reported decreases of 8.1% and 7.6%, respectively, during the month.

Strong Trading Activity

DFM’s trading activity strengthened in July with total volume of shares traded surged by 7.4%, reaching 7.5 billion shares compared to 7 billion shares in the previous month. Likewise, the total value of shares traded rose by 10.7%, amounting to $4.55 billion in July as against $4.11 billion in June.

Union Properties topped the monthly trading volume chart with 1.2 billion shares traded, followed by Drake & Skull International and Deyaar Development with volumes of 836.3 million and 669.7 million shares, respectively.

In terms of traded value, Emaar Properties led with $980 million worth of shares exchanged during the month, followed by Dubai Islamic Bank and Emirates NBD at $410 million and AED $330 million, respectively.

Dubai’s real estate market maintained its robust momentum during the first six months of this year. According to the Dubai Land Department, the real estate investment market attracted nearly 95,000 investors in the first six months of 2025, a 26% y-o-y increase compared to the same period in 2024. Notably, the number of new investors reached 59,075, with investments totalling $42.74 billion, reflecting a 22% rise in the number of investors and a 40% surge in investment value.

Residents in the UAE accounted for 45% of these new investors, underscoring the success of policies aimed at converting tenants into homeowners. In aggregate, completed investments in Dubai’s real estate market increased by 39% y-o-y during H1 2025 to $88.76 billion compared with $63.71 billion during the same period last year, Kamco Invest said.