The Dubai stock market surged to its highest level in almost a decade on Monday, driven by strong performances in the financial and real estate sectors.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index, the benchmark, closed 4.5 per cent higher at 5047.5, the highest in almost 10 years.
Shares of Emaar Properties, Dubai's largest listed developer, rose more than 14 per cent – its highest level in almost 17 years – after the company updated its dividend policy.
On Friday, the company said it planned to declare dividends at 100 per cent of its share capital for 2024, and for the next few years.
“The dividend policy provides a tailored approach to dividend distribution and aligns with market practice. It also aims at enhancing shareholder value while ensuring the financial sustainability and strategic growth of [the company],” Emaar said in a statement on Sunday.
In addition to regular dividends, the company may consider special dividends based on its cash flow, it added.
Emaar reported revenue of Dh23.8 billion ($6.48 billion) in the first nine months of this year – up 30 per cent from the same period a year earlier. The company’s net profit before tax grew 24 per cent to Dh12.4 billion during the same period.
“Looking ahead, Emaar is focusing on market expansion, digital transformation, and innovative projects to drive sustained growth,” said Marc Pussard, head of risk at APM Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based financial services company.
“This strategy, coupled with Dubai's thriving real estate market, positions Emaar optimistically for continued financial strength and long-term value creation,” Mr Pussard told The National.
UAE's financial stocks gained on Monday, ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting on December 17 and 18.
The Fed is widely expected by analysts to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest lender, settled 9.3 per cent higher at Dh21.65, while Dubai Islamic Bank closed up 5.2 per cent at Dh7.13.
First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE’s largest bank, ended the day about 1 per cent higher on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).
“What the Fed will announce about the next meetings will probably matter more than this week’s cut,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
“On one hand, [Fed chair] Jerome Powell recognises that the US economy and jobs market remain resilient. On the other hand, Trump’s pro-growth policies and tariffs could boost inflation again,” she said.
“There is nothing that justifies the continuation of regular cuts in 2025.”
The Fed has lowered interest rates by a total of 75 basis points in its previous two meetings, bringing down its target range to 4.50-4.75 per cent.
Gulf monetary policy is closely linked to the Fed, as most currencies in the region, like the dirham, are pegged to the US dollar.
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
