Dow Jones Indexes has launched the Dow Jones UAE 25 Index, which measures the performance of the 25 of the largest and most liquid equity securities trading in the UAE.

The Dow Jones UAE 25 Index has been licensed to National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and will underlie the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the UAE. It will list on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange tomorrow (March 25).

“Since the Dow Jones UAE 25 Index combines securities traded on the three local stock exchanges it reflects the broad view of the UAE in a single index,” said Michael A Petronella, president, Dow Jones Indexes.

“The index is a transparent and liquid vehicle that provides passive exposure to this attractive market.”

The selection universe of the Dow Jones UAE 25 Index consists of equity securities traded on the stock exchanges of the UAE, excluding foreign-listed stocks.

Represented exchanges are the Dubai Financial Market, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Nasdaq Dubai. To be eligible for the index, securities must have a minimum average daily trading volume of $500,000. Stocks in the index universe are ranked by free-float market capitalization and then by 12-month average daily domestic currency trading volume.

As of February 26, the top five components in the Dow Jones UAE 25 Index by free-float market capitalisation are Emirates Telecommunications, First Gulf Bank, Emaar Properties, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Dubai Islamic Bank.

The index is weighted by free-float market capitalisation. The weights of the individual components are capped to 8 per cent of the index. Components with weights of 5 per cent or more are restricted in aggregate to 40 per cent of the index.-TradeArabia News Service