Trump statements drive UAE retail trading surge, outpacing Fed and data
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
President Donald Trump's market-moving pronouncements are triggering near-instant trading among Middle Eastern retail investors, exceeding activity from Federal Reserve decisions or key U.S. economic data. Dubai Financial Market trading value rose 40% year-on-year to $32.5 billion in the first half of 2026, while Abu Dhabi's exchange saw $46.6 billion. The Middle East accounted for 57% of Capital.com's $1.13 trillion global client trading volume in Q2 2026.
Key Facts
- Dubai Financial Market trading value rose 40% year-on-year to $32.5 billion in the first half of 2026.
- Abu Dhabi's exchange saw $46.6 billion in trades in the first half of 2026.
- The Middle East accounted for 57% of Capital.com's $1.13 trillion global client trading volume in Q2 2026.
- Gold represented 49.9% of Middle East trading volume on Capital.com in Q2 2026, followed by U.S. Tech 100 at 23.5% and WTI crude at 7.3%.
- Average trade size on Capital.com rose 16% to $32,418 in Q2 2026 from $27,950 in Q1, while the number of trades fell 23.2% to 34.9 million.
Trump Announcement Reaction
Tarik Chebib, Middle East CEO of Capital.com, said price fluctuations occur immediately after Trump statements, leading to trades. Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial, said activity around Trump's statements now exceeds that generated by FOMC decisions, CPI releases, or U.S. jobless numbers. Valecha added that leverage among UAE investors has increased numerous times since Trump returned to office, as repeated market rebounds after relatively shallow corrections have emboldened traders.
UAE Trading Volume Growth
In the first half of 2026, Dubai Financial Market's trading value soared 40% year-on-year to $32.5 billion, while Abu Dhabi's exchange saw $46.6 billion in trades. On Capital.com, the Middle East accounted for 57% of the platform's $1.13 trillion in global client trading volume during the second quarter of 2026, with the majority coming from the UAE. Across the platform, average trade size rose 16% to $32,418 from $27,950 in Q1, even as the number of trades fell 23.2% to 34.9 million.
Asset Class Focus
Gold has been at the center of the activity, with Capital.com recording $1.13 trillion of client trading volume globally in Q2, and gold accounting for 42.4%. In the Middle East, gold represented 49.9% of volume, followed by the U.S. Tech 100 at 23.5% and WTI crude at 7.3%. The market's focus has shifted rapidly, with gold dominating early in the year before conflict and disruption around the Strait of Hormuz drew attention to oil, and investors then rotated into AI-related equities and U.S. indices as technology stocks recovered.
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Trump statements drive UAE retail trading surge, outpacing Fed and data
