NASDAQ Dubai today launched futures trading on the FTSE Saudi Arabia Index to FTSE Russell, which tracks 46 companies listed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Future contracts are designed to be investment vehicles at the international and regional levels, including funds that use the index as a benchmark for investing in Saudi stocks.

The move is part of the rapid expansion of the Nasdaq Dubai derivatives market, which includes the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where its stock market is the largest in terms of trading in the Middle East. Nasdaq Dubai issued futures contracts for individual shares in 12 Saudi companies last month.

Investors can use futures contracts to obtain leverage that enhances the financial return from their trading operations as well as protect their investment positions and make profits based on the performance of the underlying shares.

The Saudi riyal has been approved as the trading currency for futures contracts on the The duration of contracts is two consecutive quarters of the year, and the size of one contract is five times the value of the index.

The Nasdaq Dubai Derivatives Market was launched in 2016, and it offers a set of futures contracts for individual stocks in seventeen leading companies listed in the UAE as well as futures contracts for twelve Saudi single stocks along with futures contracts on the general index of Dubai market Financial, Abu Dhabi General Market Index and MSCI UAE Equities Index.

It is mentioned that, Nasdaq Dubai is the international financial exchange for the region between Western Europe and East Asia, and the Dubai Financial Market is the main shareholder in Nasdaq Dubai, where its share is two thirds, while the Dubai Stock Exchange owns one third of the shares, and the Dubai Authority Financial Services (DFSA) is the regulatory authority for the NASDAQ Dubai Stock Exchange. The stock exchange is based in the Dubai International Financial Center.