Small to medium cap stocks corner trade in UAE

Dubai: The focus was again on small and medium capitalisation stocks in the UAE.

Gulf Finance House, Amanat, Drake and Scull traded mixed and were among the most actively traded stocks on Monday even as the main gauges closed steady.

Gulf Finance House closed 2.88 per cent lower at Dh1.01, and was the most actively traded stock, contributing to about 37 per cent of the total traded volumes.

“We have seen smaller specific stories doing well, having catalysts, rather than wider small cap space,” Saleem Khokhar, head of equities at National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s asset management group said.

Amanat closed 1.03 per cent higher at Dh0.885, while Drake and Scull closed 1 per cent lower at Dh0.497. Out of a total of 34 stocks traded on the exchange, shares of 12 firms rose, while other 18 fell. The rest remained steady. Overall the Dubai Financial Market General Index closed 0.04 per cent higher at 3,484.82. In Abu Dhabi, the general index closed 0.09 per cent lower at 4,482.46. Eshraq Properties closed more than 1 per cent at Dh0.81. Dana Gas closed 1.72 per cent higher at Dh1.72. Methaq closed 2.33 per cent higher at Dh0.88. Out of a total of 28 stocks traded on the exchange, shares of 13 firms fell, while other 8 rose. The rest remained steady.

Saudi markets, which fell more than 2 per cent in previous session, fell again. The index closed 2,05 per cent lower at 5,935.96. “International markets were volatile last week, some of this is coming back in after a long holiday. There is some sort of rebalancing with international clients,” Ahmad Waheed, vice-president, institutional desk, Menacorp said.

“I won’t be surprised to see some softness in the market on Tuesday till end of the week,” Khokhar said. Dubai index has been one of the top performers in the Gulf as recovering oil prices triggered buying in blue chips. However, analysts expect more volatility going forward.

“In the near-term, we would expect more volatility on the downside and the upside. Over the medium term, Qatar may have more in terms of softness, but I would be comfortable in terms of buying Saudi,” Khokhar said.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Muscat Securities MSM 30 index closed 0.28 per cent lower at 5.762.74. Kuwait Stock Exchange index closed 0.08 per cent higher at 5,430.47. Bahrain Bourse All share index closed 0.61 per cent higher at 1,135.31. In the wider Middle East, Egyptian EGX 30 index closed 0.73 per cent higher at 7,974.12.