UAE equities post gains

Abu Dhabi: UAE markets on Tuesday continued with the slow but consistent uptrend, accumulating 3.35 per cent of gains since the beginning of 2008.

The market capitalisation of the listed companies hit Dh865 billion. It can easily touch the Dh1 trillion level this year, given the consistent gains and the new listings expected in 2008.

The Emirates Securities general index advanced 0.66 per cent to 6,217.48 as the stocks added Dh5.7 billion to the market capitalisation.

In Abu Dhabi, the dividend announced by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) seems to have surprised investors as the share price surged 6.36 per cent to Dh7.08 after touching the maximum limit several times during the session.

ADCB accounted for more than Dh409 million worth of trading, of the total Dh1.17 billion trading volume in Abu Dhabi.

The general index reacted positively despite the 0.46 per cent worth of losses recorded by etisalat, which fell to Dh21.85. The index gained 0.36 per cent to close at 5013.88, well above the 5000 level.

Profit-booking and re-positioning dragged the real estate sub-index down 0.79 per cent, with Sorouh Real Estate and Aldar Properties retreating 1 and 0.44 per cent to Dh9.88 and Dh11.35 respectively.

In Dubai, the general index advanced by almost one per cent to 5,777.10 on account of the strong gains recorded by many leading shares including Emaar Properties, which gained a healthy 2.6 per cent to close at Dh11.90.

Arabtec continued to outperform the market and shot up by more than five per cent to a new record of Dh15.60.

Amlak Finance was also among the best performers by adding 3.53 per cent to its value to close at Dh4.98, followed by Dubai Financial Market, Tamweel and Dubai Investments, all ending the session with strong gains. The losers included Deyaar Development and Tabreed.

Margin trading: Seminar organised

The Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (Esca) yesterday organised a seminar on margin trading for brokers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The seminar introduced the brokers to concepts such as primary margin, recall margin, value of recall and the impact of margin trading on credit policies.

- Staff Report