Dubai

The Dubai index witnessed sideways trend on Tuesday due to lack of interest in bluechips, even though buying was seen in Air Arabia after results.

The Dubai Financial Market General index closed 0.28 per cent lower at 3,647.87. Air Arabia closed 5.56 per cent higher at Dh1.14 after the airliner reported a 21 per cent rise in second quarter net profit.

“Air Arabia benefited today due to unexpected positive numbers. They had strong numbers. Net margins were better due to hedging activities, but this improvement was not coming from operating income. So we see this as a double-edged sword,” Marwan Shurrab, head of high net worth and retail equity brokerage at Al Ramz, said.

Among the losers were property majors like Damac Properties, Union Properties and Emaar Properties. Damac Properties fell more than 3 per cent to be at Dh3.96. Union Properties closed 0.11 per cent lower at Dh0.879. Emaar Properties closed 0.24 per cent lower at Dh8.33.

Dubai Investments closed 0.4 per cent lower at Dh2.46.

National Central Cooling or Tabreed closed 1.90 per cent higher at Dh2.15.

Traded value continued to be a lower side. Traded value stood at Dh221 million compared to Dh244 million on Monday.

“Market liquidity has been very low. There are catalysts for liquidity to come back like weaker dollar and oil strength. Its more of market is still trying to come back from the slow summer season. The numbers should start helping us to perform better,” Shurrab said.

“People may be waiting for Arabtec and Emaar’s results,” Shurrab said.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange general index closed 0.08 per cent lower at Dh4,588.06.

“The index is headed towards the 4,720 mark in the short term. Traders may look to hold and add selectively from the lower support levels,” said Shiv Prakash, senior analyst with National Bank of Abu Dhabi Securities.

There were reports of bulk deals in Methaq Takaful Insurance, which closed 1.12 per cent higher at Dh0.90. Around 3.5 million shares were traded on the name.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi closed 0.46 per cent lower at Dh10.85. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank closed 0.28 per cent lower at Dh3.62. Sharjah Islamic Bank closed 0.73 per cent lower at Dh1.36.

Agthia Group closed 1.27 per cent higher at Dh5.57.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index closed 0.45 per cent lower at 7,145.45. The Muscat MSM 30 index closed 0.73 per cent lower at 5,005.73. The Qatar exchange index closed 0.33 per cent higher at 9,373.49. The Bahrain al share index closed almost flat at 1,323.74.