Arab stock trading volume jumps 29% in July as value falls: AMF report

28/08/2026 03:02 AST

Trading activity across Arab stock markets surged in July, with the number of shares changing hands rising almost 29 percent from the previous month even as the value of transactions declined.

Trading volume climbed 28.82 percent to 261.86 billion shares in July from 203.27 billion in June, according to the Arab Monetary Fund's monthly bulletin on Arab capital markets.

The increase was led by the Iraq Stock Exchange, where shares traded jumped 54.88 percent to 166.66 billion, accounting for almost two-thirds of total Arab-market volume. Egypt followed, with trading volume rising 13.12 percent to about 69.26 billion shares.

The surge in volume came despite a 16.82 percent decline in trading value to $90.24 billion from $108.48 billion in June, a drop of about $18.25 billion. The AMF said much of the decline was concentrated in the Egyptian and Saudi markets, along with Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait.

The AMF report attributed the divergence to a mismatch between activity and value, noting the increase "came despite a decline in trading volumes in eight markets against a rise in seven other markets," with much of the added volume concentrated in Iraq's stock exchange and the Egyptian bourse.

Egypt leads gains
The divergence in trading activity came against a mixed performance in regional equities. The AMF's composite index for Arab financial markets fell 0.19 percent in July, with seven exchanges gaining and seven declining.

Egypt's EGX30 was the region's best-performing major index, gaining 5.85 percent during the month. Amman's ASE100 rose 3.64 percent, while Iraq's ISX60 and the Damascus Securities Exchange gained 2.13 percent and 1.82 percent, respectively.

Abu Dhabi's FADGI advanced 1.13 percent, while Tunisia's TUNINDEX and Kuwait's index gained 0.88 percent and 0.58 percent.

Bahrain recorded the biggest decline, falling 4.22 percent, followed by Qatar at 3.13 percent, Muscat at 3.07 percent and Dubai at 2.68 percent. Casablanca, Saudi Arabia's Tadawul and Palestine's Al-Quds index fell 2.05 percent, 1.95 percent and 1.01 percent, respectively.

Market value holds steady
Despite the uneven index performance, the combined market capitalization of Arab exchanges was broadly stable, rising 0.06 percent to about $4.31 trillion. The increase amounted to roughly $2.38 billion, with nine markets recording higher valuations and six posting declines.

Egypt's market capitalization rose 7 percent during the month, the strongest increase among the region's exchanges, followed by Iraq at 3.64 percent and Amman at 2.43 percent. Saudi Arabia, despite a relatively small increase in market capitalization, made a significant contribution to the regional total because of the size of its market.

Arab News