The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) said on Tuesday it had launched a financial futures product that would let investors trade the prices of five US and 10 Indian stocks. The Global Single Stock Futures mirror the prices of the underlying stocks, the DGCX said. The US stocks are Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, J.P. Morgan and Alphabet Inc, the parent of Google. The Indian stocks include bluechips such as Tata Motors and HDFC Bank.
"Currently, for a United Arab Emirates resident to be able to access the US stocks, one has to open an account with a broker in the respective country and send money to their trading account outside the UAE," the exchange said, adding that its new product would remove the need to transfer funds abroad. Gaurang Desai, chief executive of the DGCX, said he hoped the product would serve as a bridge to bring local investors into the world of futures and derivatives trading. Before introducing the single-stock futures on January 15, the exchange already traded Indian stock index futures.