UAE stock markets end mixed
Institutional investors are holding on to their shares for the next big rally, says expert
Dubai: The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index rose 0.17 per cent on Sunday led by gains in the industrial, construction, consumer and banking stocks.
The market index rose to 2,972.71 amid lower trading volumes as institutional investors largely stayed away.
"Institutional investors are holding on to their shares for the next big rally," said Vikram Shetty, Fund Adviser with National Bank of Abu Dhabi Asset Management.
On Sunday, 64.56 million shares worth a combined Dh144.35 million were traded on the ADX.
Of the 31 companies whose stocks traded, 16 advanced, while 11 declined and 4 remained unchanged.
National Corp for Tourism and Hotels was the day's main gainer on ADX with its shares rising 9.97 per cent to Dh6.95 by the close of trading.
International Fish Farming Holding Co (Asmak) was the day's main loser on ADX with its stock value declining 9.87 per cent to Dh16.90.
Sorouh Real Estate's were the most active shares, both in terms of the value of shares traded and volume of trading. The Sorouh stock traded 47.55 million shares, closing 0.01 per cent lower at Dh3.35.
Market analysts remain bullish on the near term prospects of Abu Dhabi's blue-chip stocks.
They say foreign fund inflows into the UAE markets, stock buying by local investors and strong fundamentals of the country's economy are the factors likely to spur bullish sentiments.
Meanwhile, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index marginally fell in the absence of any significant market-moving news that could have triggered a market rally and profit-taking in index heavyweight real estate major Emaar's shares.
The DFM index fell 0.13 per cent to 2,164.11 by the close of trade. Emaar's shares fell 0.45 per cent to Dh4.42 on a day when 38.64 million of its shares worth Dh172.94 million were traded on the bourse.
"The market was relatively quiet today. There was some profit-taking," said one market participant.
Overall, as many as 161.43 million shares worth a combined Dh365.10 million changed hands in Dubai. Of the 28 company stocks traded, as many as 13 went up, 11 went down, while 4 remained unchanged.
Al Salam Bank-Bahrain was the biggest gainer on the DFM yesterday with its shares rising 2.94 per cent to Dh1.05.
AirArabia was the day's biggest loser with its stock value declining 1.85 per cent to Dh1.06. Shares of Emaar were the most actively traded, both in terms of value and volume.
Market analysts say some of the Dubai-listed shares currently have attractive valuations and due to an improvement in risk appetite worldwide on indications the worst of the global recession may have passed, there is a strong likelihood of greater foreign capital inflows into the market, near-term.
