Dubai: Dubai bourse’s benchmark index ended flat on Tuesday, while Abu Dhabi’s ADX fell, just as global investors seek concrete evidence of relations improving between the United States and China.
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index stayed unchanged at 2,705 points, while Abu Dhabi’s ADX was down 0.9 per cent at 5,046.2 points, after recording a similar-sized gain on Monday.
UAE’s largest Sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank ended down 0.4 per cent, after inching up earlier in the day on securing regulatory consent for its acquisition of Noor Bank, another Dubai-based Islamic Bank.
Emaar-related stocks traded mixed, with Emaar Development gaining 1 per cent, while Emaar Properties slipped 1.4 per cent. Budget airline Air Arabia advanced 5 per cent.
The Abu Dhabi benchmark index was weighed down by market heavyweight First Abu Dhabi Bank and telecoms giant Etisalat, which were down 0.1 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively.
The movements come as stocks worldwide drifted higher during the day after China signalled further progress in trade talks with the United States and US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gave an upbeat assessment on the domestic economy.
“The markets are optimistic about reaching a phase-one trade deal between US and China soon,” said Mohamed Zidan, Chief Market Strategist for ThinkMarkets in Dubai. “Recent headlines are positive, but we are still not certain about how exactly the deal will look like.”
Elsewhere, Egypt’s EGX 30 dropped 1.4 per cent. The country’s central bank governor Tarek Amer had his tenancy renewed for a second four-year term. Since 2016, Amer oversaw a reform of the country’s monetary policy — a devaluation of the national currency and the subsequent interest rate hikes.
