Abu Dhabi shares advance, Dubai falls back slightly
Abu Dhabi shares advance, Dubai falls back slightly
Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi shares advanced for the first time in three days, led by energy and telecom stocks.
Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. gained, ending two days of declines. Emirates Telecommunications Corp., known as Etisalat, rose for the first time in five days.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Market Index added 0.6 percent to 5,034.9. The index has climbed 11 percent so far this year.
"There has been a bit of selling in Abu Dhabi in the past few days and stocks are rebounding,'' Ahmed Mitkees, a researcher at NBD Securities, said.
Abu Dhabi National Energy, the state-controlled energy investor known as Taqa, added 2.3 percent to 3.58 dirhams. Etisalat, the United Arab Emirates' biggest mobile-phone operator, advanced 1.4 percent to 21.65 dirhams.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index lost 0.5 percent. The measure has still gained 8.9 percent this quarter.
"We are trading pretty flat and volumes are low,'' Noel Glendon-Doyle, an institutional sales associate at Al-Mal Securities, said.
About 147 million shares were traded on Abu Dhabi's index, close to half the six-month daily average. In Dubai, volumes fell to three-fifths of the six-month average.
Oman's Muscat Securities Market 30 Index decreased 0.7 percent, while Qatar's Doha Securities Market Index added less than 0.1 percent. The Bahrain All Share Index advanced 0.3 percent and the Kuwait Stock Exchange Index gained less than 0.1.
United Real Estate Co. fell 1.2 percent to 164 fils. The company that sells, buys and leases properties said first- quarter net income tumbled 87 percent to 229,062 dinars ($856,194), according to a statement posted on the Web site of the Kuwaiti bourse.
Ahli United Bank BSC rose 1.6 percent to $1.25. The largest publicly traded commercial lender in Bahrain said first-quarter profit rose 37 percent to $94.3 million on expansion in regional markets.
