Individual investors on NASDAQ Dubai increased their share of equities traded value on the exchange to 8.9% in April 2011, up from 5.7% in March 2011.
The strong expansion came after NASDAQ Dubai started routing all its equities trades through the trading platform of Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in 2010, in order to improve access by individual investors.
The value of equities trades by individuals rose to 6.4 million dollars in April 2011, up 35% from 4.75 million dollars in March 2011. Total equities traded value – by institutions and individuals - fell 13% in the same period, to reach 72 million dollars in April.
Jeff Singer, Chief Executive of NASDAQ Dubai, said: "In a challenging period for the regional capital markets, we are delighted to see more individual investors trading on the exchange. The outsourcing to DFM's systems is creating a market with an active retail base as well as institutional liquidity, putting NASDAQ Dubai in a strong position to benefit from a rebound in regional equity activity."
The FTSE NASDAQ Dubai UAE 20 index ended April 2011 at 1,778, up 7% from the end of March and down 1% 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.