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UAE stocks were the only GCC markets to end September in the green, bucking the region's worst month in almost a year, according to Kamco’s latest Markets Monthly Report (pdf). The MSCI GCC index fell 3.5%, its biggest monthly decline since November 2025, as the war dragged on, and attacks on Saudi oil facilities pushed crude to a near four-month high.
Dubai led the region: The DFM General Index rose 2.1% m-o-m, the strongest monthly gain in the GCC, as trading volume almost doubled to 6.7 bn shares. Communications (+6.9%) and real estate (+5.7%) led the advance. The index is still down 1.4% YTD, though, and gained a marginal 0.1% over 3Q.
Abu Dhabi notched a fourth straight monthly gain: The ADX rose 0.6%, leaving it up 0.8% YTD and 2.7% for 3Q. Eight of its 10 sector indices advanced, led by real estate (+6.3%) and telecom (+1.7%), while heavyweight financials barely moved (+0.1%). Trading volume rose 26.7%.
The rest of the Gulf went the other way: Saudi's TASI fell 6.2% to its lowest level since the war began, and Qatar dropped 5.7%. Bahrain (-1.5%), Kuwait's All Share index (-1.3%), and Oman's MSX 30 (-0.5%) posted smaller declines. Oman is still up 29% YTD, the best performance in the GCC.
IN CONTEXT- The results point to signs of recovery for UAE capital markets, after a bumpy start to the year. Both the DFM and the ADX closed in the red at the end of March, with the DFM shedding 16.4% and the ADX falling 8.9% in the wake of the regional war outbreak. Since its end-March close, the DFM is up c. 9.7% and the ADX c. 5.8%.
