UAE indices mirror global muted sentiment
Trading subdued on eve of Thanksgiving, investors seek more clarity on US-China truce
Dubai: The benchmark index on Dubai’s stock exchange edged up marginally on Wednesday, while the main index in Abu Dhabi was flat, just as markets worldwide was largely muted ahead of Thanksgiving.
US President Donald Trump said Washington and Beijing were in the “final throes” of signing an initial trade deal between the economies. However, subdued trading of stocks worldwide implied investors were unimpressed and looking for definite signs of trade relations improving.
“Investors will likely want to see more concrete developments than an off-the-cuff statement from a President under pressure at home and desperate for good news”, said Daniel Marc Richards, MENA Economist at Emirates NBD.
On the local front, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index inched 0.2 per cent higher at 2,711 points, while Abu Dhabi’s ADX remained unchanged at 5,043 points.
The index in Dubai was led by gains from financials, with Dubai Islamic Bank gaining 1.7 per cent, while Emaar Properties rose 1.2 per cent. However, gains were capped by a near 1 per cent decline by top lender Emirates NBD.
Other regional stock markets recorded declines, which multiple analysts said was on account of passive fund outflows following rebalancing of the MSCI Emerging Markets index.
Global index provider MSCI on Tuesday said it would add 200 more Chinese companies with A-shares listed on the mainland to its emerging markets benchmark, in a report closely eyed by region wide investors this week. The main index in Saudi Arabia slipped 0.8 per cent, while Qatar declined 0.2 per cent.