Dubai

The UAE’s main equity indices fell less than 1 per cent on Wednesday as earnings season for the third quarter of 2017 wrapped up, with the last of listed companies releasing their financial results.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index fell 0.61 per cent to reach 3,467.56, as the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index dropped 0.67 per cent to end at 4,337.09.

“I think it was more of a consolidation day today than anything else, although slightly negative, but I guess you could take that against the backdrop in the global environment where you’ve seen some profit-taking in Asia, and a drop in futures in the US.

Overall, it’s a slightly negative backdrop, but I think our region is holding up well,” said Saleem Khokhar, head of equities at global asset management at First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Among the highlights for those releasing their results on Wednesday was Drake and Skull International, which reported larger losses for the third quarter of 2017, reaching Dh317.6 million compared to Dh46.3 million in losses in the same quarter of 2016.

The company’s share prices jumped 4.07 per cent, however, as it said in a statement that it expects financial performance to normalise in 2018. DSI’s shares were also the most actively traded on the Dubai bourse, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the Dh424.4 million traded across the market.

Meanwhile, GFH Financial Group share prices slid 1.25 per cent, Emaar fell 1.13 per cent, and Dubai Islamic Bank inched down 0.33 per cent.

In Abu Dhabi, the market’s blue chips were the most actively-traded, and all ended in the red. First Abu Dhabi Bank fell 0.98 per cent to Dh10.15, as Etisalat slid 0.88 per cent to Dh16.8, and Aldar Properties declined 0.89 per cent. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank also went down 0.69 per cent.

“I’m quite hopeful about performance going forward. Valuations are among the cheapest in the region at the moment, so I think once the current spike in volatility settles down a little bit, there are certainly opportunities in the UAE,” Khokhar said.

He added that property companies look attractive — the likes of Emaar and Aldar Properties, which both have good valuations.

Valuations aside, investors in the UAE market also have the Adnoc Distribution initial public offering to look forward to next month. The giant oil producer confirmed earlier this week it plans to list a minority stake in its subsidiary, Adnoc Distribution, on ADX.

“I think IPOs are still welcome in the market. They increase the diversification of stocks that are available. I think the IPO from Adnoc, once we dig a little bit deeper, should appeal to a wide investor base in the region,” Khokhar said.