The Arab Monetary Fund’s Composite Index for Arab Capital Markets recorded an increase of 1.03% at the end of December 2024, benefiting from the positive performance of the majority of Arab stock exchanges included in the index. Ten stock exchanges experienced growth in their performance indices, supported by several positive factors, most notably declining interest rates, lower inflation rates, and increased lending and investment activity. In addition, positive investor expectations regarding annual corporate earnings for 2024 contributed to enhanced liquidity and higher trading volumes.
The announcement by FTSE Russell of the quarterly review results for emerging market indices - which included the addition of new Arab companies to the index - played a significant role in supporting the performance of several Arab stock exchanges. Arab exchanges continued their efforts to expand market bases by upgrading companies from secondary and parallel markets to the main markets.
On the other hand, four Arab stock exchanges saw declines in performance due to weaker activity in key sectors, particularly telecommunications and basic materials. The commercial and consumer services sectors also
faced downturns in several exchanges, negatively impacting trading volumes.
The Dubai Financial Market topped the list of Arab and Gulf markets in terms of performance, with its index rising significantly by 6.42%. It was followed by the Palestine Exchange at 4.85% and the Iraq Stock Exchange at 4.14%. Other markets, including Saudi Arabia, Amman, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, and Qatar, achieved gains ranging from 3.39% to 1.47%.
Meanwhile, the Tunis and Muscat stock exchanges recorded slight improvements of less than 1%. Conversely, four Arab stock exchanges listed in the Arab Monetary Fund’s database saw declines, with losses ranging from 0.43% in the Casablanca Stock Exchange to 7.64% in the Damascus Securities Exchange.
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