Individual investors on NASDAQ Dubai more than doubled their share of equities traded value on the exchange to 7.4% in the first quarter of 2011, up from 2.7% in the fourth quarter of 2010.
The strong increase came after NASDAQ Dubai started routing all its equities trades through the trading platform of Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in July 2010, in order to improve access by individual investors.
The value of trades by individuals rose to 14.8 million dollars in the first quarter of 2011, up 52% from the fourth quarter of 2010. Total traded value – by institutions and individuals - fell 44% in the same period, to reach 202 million dollars in the first quarter of 2011.
Jeff Singer, Chief Executive of NASDAQ Dubai, said: “We are delighted that the outsourcing to DFM’s systems has suceeded in attracting growing interest from individual investors in NASDAQ Dubai equities. Investors can now trade on both markets using the same investor number. We look forward to building further retail and institutional liquidity as confidence in the region’s capital markets increases.”
The FTSE NASDAQ Dubai UAE 20 index ended March 2011 at 1,665, up 10% from the end of February and down 8% from the end of 2010.
The index tracks 20 liquid stocks listed on DFM, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and NASDAQ Dubai. It has been designed as a hedging and investment mechanism for GCC and international investors.