Trump’s pronouncements are triggering instant trades in the Middle East as UAE investors place bigger bets

President Donald Trump’s market-moving pronouncements are triggering almost instantaneous trading among Middle Eastern retail investors, with his statements generating more activity than Federal Reserve decisions or key U.S. economic data, according to one Dubai-based trading executive.

“We see the price fluctuation immediately, and that will lead to trades,” Tarik Chebib, the Middle East CEO of trading platform Capital.com, told Fortune .

“We see that there’s more activity around those kinds of announcements.” The reaction comes as trading activity across the UAE accelerates, positioning the country as a serious challenger to more established financial hubs.

In the first half of 2026, the 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.

At the same time, retail investors are placing ever-larger leveraged bets on gold, oil, and U.S. technology stocks.

On Capital.com alone, 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.

Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Dubai-based Century Financial, said the pattern extends beyond one brokerage.

“As soon as there’s any kind of announcement coming from the White House or President Trump, we see activity increasing immediately,” he added.

Valecha said activity around Trump’s statements now exceeds that generated by Federal Open Market Committee decisions, CPI releases or U.S. jobless numbers.

Leverage among UAE investors has also increased numerous times since Trump returned to office, according to Valecha, as repeated market rebounds after relatively shallow corrections have emboldened traders.

“As soon as there’s any kind of announcement coming from the White House or President Trump, we see activity increasing immediately” Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial The Middle East accounted for 57.2% of Capital.com’s global platform volume in the second quarter of 2026.

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.

Chebib said Middle Eastern clients tend to use more leverage and take “huge positions,” particularly in commodities.

Gold has been at the center of the activity.