Emirates: The UAE has ranked fifth in the world in a recent survey that ranks countries according to their interest in stock trading. No other Gulf or Arab nation made it to the top 10.

The study was conducted by CMC Markets, a UK-based financial services company that offers online derivative trading products such as spread betting and contracts for difference across world markets such as shares and foreign exchange.

The study examined Google Trends data of search terms frequently used by people interested in stocks and trading. These terms were then combined to give each English-speaking country a ‘total search score’ to discover which countries have been the most interested in stocks in the past 12 months. Using these criteria, the UAE scored 374 out of a maximum possible score of 700.

The study revealed that Singapore ranks highest as the country most interested in stocks and trading. With a total search score of 555 out of a possible 700, Singapore topped the list for its population having the highest search levels for the phrases ‘stocks’, ‘buy stocks’, and ‘interest rate’ worldwide. Additionally, the population of Singapore search for ‘stock market’ the third most worldwide, behind the United States and India.

India is second on the list with a total search score of 492. India has the second-highest proportion of its population searching for both the phrases ‘stock market’ and ‘swing trading’ placing the country second in the ranking.

Canada was placed as the third country most interested in stocks worldwide. The North American country has the second-highest level of searches for the term ‘invest in stocks’, in addition to being the country searching for ‘buy stocks’ the third most worldwide, giving Canada a total search score of 462.

The United States places fourth overall. With a total search score of 453 out of a possible 700, the USA has the highest level of searches for both terms ‘invest in stocks’ and ‘stock market’, and the fourth-highest level of searches for the term ‘buy stocks’.

The UAE ranked fifth, with a total search score of 374. The study revealed that the UAE has the fourth-highest search levels for the term ‘swing trading’ and is the fifth country most interested in ‘day trading’.

The UAE was followed by Australia, South Africa, New Zealand the UK and Nigeria.

With the UAE increasing its focus on listing major companies, the country has seen a flurry of listing over the past year. In Dubai, Dewa, Empower, Salik and Tecom were among the major offerings. In Abu Dhabi, AD Ports Group, Borouge, Americana and Taaleem were among the biggest companies whose shares were offered to investors in 2022.

Largely as a result of these listing, the market cap of Arab stock exchanges exceeded $4 trillion by the end of 2022, according to the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF). The AMF said that the market value of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange reached $714.6 billion in the reference year, while that of Dubai Financial Market was valued at $158.4 billion. The market value of the Saudi Stock Exchange was $2.63 trillion; while that of the Qatar Stock Exchange was $167.09 billion. The market cap of the Boursa Kuwait was $152.7 billion; while that of the Muscat Stock Exchange was $61.6 billion.