Lack of follow-through buying keeps UAE equities subdued

Dubai: Lack of follow-through buying from UAE investors kept the sentiment subdued after an early recovery on the Dubai index.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed 0.07 per cent lower at 3,405.61, after hitting a low of 3,381.09.

“There is still a bit of worry on what happened in Saudi [Arabia] on Sunday. At the opening of the UAE markets were very low, until Saudi markets opened a little bit higher, then our markets started to see much higher volumes. Saudi investors are taking money off the table and investing that back in home market,” Ahmad Waheed, Vice President — Institutional Desk, Menacorp said.

Saudi stocks witnessed a sell-off last week after the government announced austerity measures, ignoring a recovery to more than $50 per barrel in Brent crude.

In the UAE, investors continued to favour defensive names like Tabreed, Agthia, and Gulf Finance House.

Gulf Finance House recovered from its intraday low as traders started to accumulate from lower levels. GFH closed 0.93 per cent higher at Dh1.08, while Emaar Properties closed 1.01 per cent higher at Dh6.97. Tabreed, which has been an outperfomer, closed 2.31 per cent higher at Dh1.77. Out of a total of 34 firms traded on the exchange, shares of 17 firms fell, while other 11 firms rose, The rest remained steady.

Attractive

“Current levels are very attractive especially for stocks like Emaar. It would be a slow start to October and then we would see a pickup with the results,” said Waheed.

In Abu Dhabi, the securities exchange index closed 0.29 per cent higher at 4,409.05. Agthia closed 3.99 per cent higher at Dh6.25. Dana Gas closed 3.70 per cent higher at Dh0.56. Aldar Properties closed more than a per cent higher at Dh2.59. Out of a total of 26 stocks traded on the exchange, shares of 10 firms fell, while other 11 firms rose. The rest remained steady. Elsewhere in the Gulf, Saudi Arabian stocks rose after witnessing a sell-off in the previous few sessions.

The Tadawul index was 1.94 per cent higher at 5,521.78.

Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co. closed 2.35 per cent higher at 4.80 Saudi riyals, while Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. was 2.78 per cent higher at 5.55 riyals.

Qatar exchange index closed 0.76 per cent higher at 10,388.18. Muscat securities MSM 30 index closed 1.08 per cent lower at 5,613.26.