Abu Dhabi: Both the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index, and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index registered slight changes on Monday, ending the day having traded sideways.

The DFM index fell 0.09 per cent to reach 4,625.76, while the ADX index gained 0.02 per cent to reach 4,965.07.

In Dubai, the market closed with a relatively low trade value of Dh670 million — almost half of which was accounted for by Emaar. Share prices for the real estate developer gained 0.44 per cent to reach Dh11.35.

Analyst Osama Al Ashry said he considered the low volume a positive sign, though.

“Having weak values also means that traders are not selling, and that is positive. Half of the market value went to Emaar, whose share prices went up meaning that all the value of trade went to buyers rather than sellers,” said Al Ashry, a member of UK organisation, Society of Technical Analysts.

Other real estate developers ended the day in the red, however, including Arabtec and Union Properties, which fell 1.75 per cent, and 2.5 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, Air Arabia gained 1.38 per cent, Deyaar rose 1.96 per cent, and Dubai Islamic Bank went up 0.26 per cent.

Discussing market performance, Al Ashry said the DFM index can easily climb to achieve new highs for 2014 by the end of the year. He expected a similarly positive performance from ADX.

“With Emaar’s announcement of high dividends, its share prices can rise, and this will ultimately pull up the DFM index because of Emaar’s weighting on the index. If Emaar does increase, the index can cross 5,000 and reach 5,500 in the first quarter of 2015,” he said.

Al Ashry expected Emaar share prices to reach Dh12.80 — a resistance, which, if crossed, can see prices at Dh15 next year.

“Emaar and Arabtec seem to be moving in opposite directions, meaning that investors are carefully studying the market, and picking what to invest in. Overall, I think the DFM index gives hope because of its stability,” the analyst said.

In the capital, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank topped the gainers’ list with a 4.24 per cent increase, followed by Sharjah Islamic Bank with 2.11 per cent, Union Insurance Company with 1.82 per cent, and Abu Dhabi Ship Building Co. with 1.71 per cent.

Of the 29 stocks traded on DFM, 15 went down, 11 went up, and three remained unchanged. Of the 27 companies traded on ADX, 13 declined, seven advanced, and seven remained flat.