Dubai

Buying in select UAE stocks triggered a partial recovery in UAE indices.

Mid-session buying in Emaar Properties and Dubai Islamic Bank helped Dubai index to recover slightly from its low, while buying in etislat and First Gulf Bank helped Abu Dhabi index to recover slightly.

Dubai Financial Market General Index recovered from its low of 3,458.82, to close at 3,482.25, up 0.68 per cent from the bottom. However, compared to the previous session, the index closed 1 per cent lower.

About more than 30 per cent of the volumes took place in the last 15 minutes of auction trade in which Ajman Bank was most-actively traded stock contributing to 28 million shares out of a total of 49 million shares, exchange data showed. Traded volumes were at the highest level since October 2014.

Bargain buying was witnessed in Emaar Properties, which helped the shares to recover partly from its intra-day low. Emaar Properties, which was the second most active stock in trade, closed 1.54 per cent lower at Dh7.04.

Gulf Finance House jumped 0.99 per cent to end at Dh1.02 after the company said it will sell its residual 18 per cent stake in a football club. Shuaa Capital closed 0.73 per cent lower at Dh0.814. Out of a total of 35 stocks traded on the exchange, shares of 25 firms fell, while other 7 rose. The rest remained steady.

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange general index closed 0.38 per cent lower at 4,499.26, after falling to a low of 4,458.35.

“There was an initial reaction to what happened with oil and also what happened to developed markets and emerging markets in the past few sessions,” said Saleem Khokhar, head of equities at National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s asset management group. UAE equities along with the other markets in the Gulf were shut for Eid Al Adha holidays since Sunday. Also trading volume remained low. Shares worth Dh382 million were traded, most of which came in the last couple of hours of trade.

“Low volumes were expected during this part of the year, and given the other markets are still off,” he added.

New leads:

“We would be a little bit careful because of uncertainty with developed and emerging market equities,” said Khokhar. The uncertainty is about the timing of a Fed rate hike, whether the increase will come in next week or in December.

Also, going ahead, investors would look at third quarter results, which are due next month, for direction. Elsewhere in the Gulf, Bahrain exchange index closed 0.44 per cent higher at 1,125.07. Other markets in the Gulf were shut for holidays.

Egyptian EGX 30 index closed 1.75 per cent lower at 7,990.18.