Abu Dhabi stocks are lagging global peers as companies tied to a powerful royal drag down the index after supporting it for several years.
The benchmark FTSE ADX General Index has dropped every single month of 2024 so far, putting it on track for a second year of losses and the worst annual performance since 2011.
That’s a massive reversal from the bull run between early 2020 and late 2022, when the emirate’s stocks soared amid a rally fueled by companies tied to the Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan — one of Abu Dhabi’s two deputy rulers, national security adviser of the United Arab Emirates and brother to its president. The sheikh’s companies or those he oversees have a weighting of at least 66% on the benchmark.
The gauge has dropped about 7% this year so far, underperforming the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and all regional peers except Qatar. Emirates Telecommunications Group Co. is the biggest drag on the index. It’s followed by Alpha Dhabi Holding, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Multiply Group and Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. — all of which are firms linked to Sheikh Tahnoon.
The UAE stock market has rapidly expanded since 2020 amid a rush of initial public offerings — mostly sold to local investors — and led by companies tied to Sheikh Tahnoon.
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