Investors at Abu Dhabi's stock exchange continued to sell etisalat shares after receiving their dividend payments, driving the company's stock down by almost five per cent and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) index for a third consecutive day.
Abu Dhabi's indicator lost 1.7 per cent to close at 2,859 with blue chip stocks etisalat, National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and Aldar all finishing in the red. Trading volume increased to 61 million shares but remained well below the 100 million-plus figures recorded in the sessions following the Dubai World debt restructuring announcement one week ago.
"It's the beginning of the month," said Mohammad Yasin, chief executive officer of Shuaa Securities. "It was a quiet day in movements and in volumes. The ADX index was mainly affected because of the price correction on etisalat."
Etisalat lost 4.5 per cent to close at Dh10.90 after investors collected the remaining Dh0.35 per share dividend approved last month. The company had already paid Dh0.25 per share for first half earnings. The UAE's second largest bank by assets, NBAD, lost 3.8 per cent to Dh11.55. Real estate developer Aldar took its traditional position as one of the top five most traded stocks, but lost 1.08 per cent to Dh4.60.
Aabar Investments was the second most active stock with 13 million shares changing hands, gaining 2.6 per cent to Dh2.45, as the company announced it is considering a convertible bond issue worth up to $2 billion (Dh7.4 billion) to fund its expansion.
Dubai's exchange closed up 0.9 per cent at 1,859 as property stocks pulled the index up after Wednesday's drop.
Emaar led the market, gaining 2 per cent to Dh4.08, and Arabtec rose 1.11 per cent to Dh2.74.
"The DFM in general saw a quiet session. There was not much movement except with Dubai Islamic Bank buying because of its 20 per cent dividend with a 15 per cent cash dividend plus bonus shares. It presents a good deal for the share," said Mohammad Yasin, chief executive of Shuaa Securities.
DIB announced net profits of Dh1.2 billion for 2009. The bank said increased provisioning affected its profits for last year, but that it was a necessary measure to protect against weak market conditions. It said the strategy would be similar this year, according to a statement on the DFM. The bank expanded with 11 new branches and increased its customer base by 15 per cent.
Air Arabia fell 2.04 per cent to Dh0.96 after Wednesday's slump of 9.26 per cent. The stock went ex-dividend and saw selling pressure.
He said that while most positions of funds are closed at the beginning of the month, "we will see better move of market in the coming week rather than [now]."
DFM rose 1.05 per cent to Dh2.83. Company executive chairman Essa Kazim said Tuesday its merger with Nasdaq Dubai would be finalised within two week. He said the approval by the regulators is in the last stages and should be completed soon.
Shuaa Capital jumped 4.83 per cent.
