The Dubai stock market reached its highest level since August 2015, marking an eight-year high, primarily due to gains in the real estate sector.
On Monday, July 3, the Dubai Financial Market General Index closed with a 2.3 percent rise, continuing its growth trend for the year. Emaar Properties PJSC, Emaar Development PJSC, and Emirates NBD Bank PJSC were the key contributors to the index’s gains.
In June 2023, the Dubai real estate sector recorded transactions worth AED30.41 billion ($8.3 billion), indicating a 17.78 percent increase compared to June 2022.
According to Dahlia Sabaayon, a senior investment analyst at Al Dhabi Capital, 2 main factors contributed to the surge in the Dubai stocks index:
- The market benefited from recent new listings
- A significant re-rating of real estate companies.
Strong momentum in the real estate sector, including the reinstatement of dividends for Emaar Development, has also been influential.
Dubai’s real estate sector accounts for over a third of the emirate’s local consumer price index. Despite falling prices in other regions, Dubai’s real estate market has experienced a rise in prices due to strong demand.
Dubai has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic as an attractive investment destination and a magnet for wealth and tourism. According to S&P Global Ratings, Dubai’s economy is projected to grow by 3 percent in 2023, following growth rates of 5 percent in 2022 and 6.2 percent in 2021.