The value of shares traded on NASDAQ Dubai reached 71 million dollars in February 2011, up 50% from 47.1 million dollars in January. Traded value in February 2010 was 133.4 million dollars.
The share of trading by retail investors in February 2011 reached 5.5% of total traded value. Institutional investors accounted for 94.5%.
The retail share rose from 2% of total traded value in August 2010, which was the first full month of trading after NASDAQ Dubai started routing all its equities trades through the trading platform of Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in mid-July.
The value of retail trades on NASDAQ Dubai rose from 1.6 million dollars in August 2010 to 3.9 million dollars in February 2011. The retail share in January 2011 was 13%, with a value of 6 million dollars.
Jeff Singer, Chief Executive of NASDAQ Dubai, said: "In a challenging period for Middle East capital markets, the increase in retail trading in 2011 from last year indicates that the switch to DFM's platform has succeeded in attracting more retail investors to NASDAQ Dubai's market. We look forward to building further retail and institutional liquidity."
Seven regional brokers became Members of NASDAQ Dubai in 2010 to take advantage of the new trading regime, bringing the total number of Members to 35 international and regional brokers.
The FTSE NASDAQ Dubai UAE 20 index ended February 2011 at 1,508, down 9% from the end of January 2011.
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.