The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) said its market capitalization dropped 2.5 per cent at the end of May to reach Dh196.9 billion ($53.6 billion) compared to Dh201.9 billion the last month.

DFM general index too decreased by 4.5 per cent to 1559.9 points at the end of May compared to 1634.1 points at the end of April.

At the sectoral level, seven out of the nine indices represented on DFM ended the month in the red, with services sector witnessing the biggest drop of 18.1 per cent, followed by the Investment and Financial Services and Banking sectors which fell 11 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively.

The consumer staples and industrial sectors saw no change, said a statement from the Dubai bourse.

The value of shares traded in May plunged 29.6 per cent to hit Dh3.5 billion, compared to Dh4.9 billion recorded during April.

The number of shares traded too decreased by 19.8 per cent to hit 3.2 billion shares during this month compared to 3.9 billion shares traded in April.

The number of transactions executed during May too fell by 19.3 per cent to reach 50.7 thousands compared to 62.8 thousand deals carried out during the previous month.

As for sectors’ contribution to trading volumes, the real estate and construction sector ranked first at Dh1.514 billion with 43.8 per cent of the total value of shares traded in the market, the DFM statement said.

The banking sector ranked second at Dh853.2 million (24.7 per cent) followed by financial services and investment sector with Dh383.3 million (11.1 per cent), telecommunication sector with Dh249.5 million (7.2 per cent) and the transportation sector with Dh212.1 million (6.1 per cent), the statement added.

The value of shares bought by foreign investors during this month reached Dh1.59 billion comprising 46 per cent of the total value of shares traded, said the bourse.

The value of shares sold by foreign investors during the same period reached Dh1.566 billion comprising 45.3 per cent of the total value traded. DFM net foreign investment in-flow reached Dh24.6 million, the DFM said in the statement.

The value of stocks bought by institutional investors during this month reached Dh883.8 million comprising 25.6 per cent of the total value of shares traded.

The value of shares sold by institutional investors during the same period reached Dh834.9 million which constitutes 24.2 per cent of the total value traded, the DFM statement said.

The net institutional investment in-flow at the bourse amounted to Dh49 million, it added.-TradeArabia News Service