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The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Traded volume stood steady at 4 million, hewing to its 30-day average of 4.1 million. Image Credit: Ahmed Kutty/Gulf News
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Dubai: Shares of First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) continue to witness an insatiable demand as traders resorted to buy regardless of the pricier entry levels. The fresh bout of buying has come about after the bank said it had received regulatory nods from the central bank and the market regulator to hike foreign ownership limit to 40 per cent.

“FAB looks a bit pricey especially compared to peers, so it doesn’t look like the best option,” said Issam Kassabieh, senior financial analyst at Menacorp. “But it is safe because the value is there and because of the MSCI advantage. Dubai Islamic Bank is also appealing.”

37 .1%

Rise in FAB shares in the past year

On Thursday, FAB shares closed 1.51 per cent higher at the day’s high of Dh16.16. FAB has gained 37.10 per cent in the past year, outperforming the wider ADX index, which gained 18.71 per cent in the same period. Analysts expect shares to surge to Dh18.

Traded volume stood steady at 4 million, hewing to its 30-day average of 4.1 million. Surprisingly, a bulk deal of 50 million shares was done on March 28, before the news came on foreign limit on April 14. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Union National Bank (UNB) also revisited their previous highs due to buying in FAB shares.

ADCB closed 2.45 per cent higher at Dh9.62, while UNB was 2.56 per cent higher at Dh5.60. As a result, the ADX index reached its highest level since February 2006, and the index closed 1 per cent higher at 5,292. Dana Gas shares reached its highest level this year, while Aldar Properties closed 3.31 per cent higher to Dh1.87. About 22 million shares changed hands on the counter, the highest level in a month.

2 .45%

Rise in ADCB shares yesterday to close at Dh9.62

“Aldar was recommended a buy in early December at Dh1.55, the stock may reach Dh1.97/2.10 in the short term, and the overall long term trend is gradually turning bullish,” Shiv Prakash, senior analyst with First Abu Dhabi Bank Securities, said. FABS had recommended at buy at Dh1.76 on April 15.

Traders also resorted to buying in other real estate names such as Emaar Malls and Arabtec. Emaar Malls closed 1.8 per cent higher at Dh1.7, while Arabtec inched 2.28 per cent higher to Dh2.24. Dubai Islamic Bank was the most-active stock in trade, contributing to 4 per cent of the total traded volume of 233 million shares.