Leading UAE brokers have enhanced their skills in a hotly contested Nasdaq Dubai simulated trading competition, in which they bought and sold equity futures.

The strong participation in the simulation reflected brokers’ interest in learning more about how to trade successfully in the real equity futures market, which was opened by Nasdaq Dubai in September 2016 and has expanded rapidly.

Menacorp was the winning brokerage in the Nasdaq Dubai Equity Derivatives Challenge 2017 simulation, based on profits made in trading futures on 12 UAE-listed companies. NBAD Securities and Union Brokerage took second and third spots. Hesham Mohamed Khairy of Menacorp was the most successful individual broker, followed by Mohammed Abu Shaireh of Al Safwa Mubasher, then Amr Salem Raafat of EFG-Hermes, Fatima Al Mansouri of NBAD Securities and Hani Ghanayem of Integrated Securities.

A total of 144 individuals from 12 UAE brokerages took part in the two-week challenge, in which they traded notional money using live prices based on the real equity futures market.

Speaking on the occasion, Hamed Ali, Chief Executive of Nasdaq Dubai, said, "Simulated trading is a highly effective tool for learning how to trade more effectively in the actual market. The high participation shown by leading UAE brokers in the challenge reflects the intense interest they are showing in our real equity futures platform, where success requires developing skills and understanding well beyond those needed for trading equities."

Since the opening of the market in September 2016, more than 1.5 million equity futures contracts have traded. Trading in April 2017 reached a record monthly high of 305,065 contracts, up 66% from 183,997 in March 2017.

Fathi Ben Grira, Chief Exceutive of Menacorp, said, "Nasdaq Dubai’s equity futures market is one of the most exciting capital markets initiatives ever undertaken in the UAE, providing unique opportunities for brokers and their clients to make attractive investments and hedge existing portfolios. The challenge enabled our brokers who are already trading successfully to further improve their capabilities, while providing others with the skills to get started."

Equity futures enable investors to profit when the underlying share price is falling, as well as make use of margin trading to make larger gains than if they had traded the shares themselves.