Mild buying continues on UAE bourses as Saudi index declines

Dubai: Mild buying continued in UAE bourses even as Saudi declined for a second day after the inclusion to the emerging market index.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed 0.90 per cent higher to 3,136.36. Traders resorted to buying in shares of Deyaar, Dubai Islamic Bank, Amanat, Union Properties, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Eshraq, Aldar, Taqa among others. Emaar Properties closed at Dh5.85, up 0.86 per cent. Union Properties closed 1.96 per cent higher to Dh0.886. Deyaar Properties closed 1.68 per cent higher to Dh0.484. Gulf Finance House closed 1.48 per cent higher to Dh1.37.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange general index closed 0.04 per cent lower to 4,583.53.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank closed 0.08 per cent higher to Dh3.79. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank was flat at Dh6.7. Taqa shares almost flat at Dh0.81. Exposure

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index closed 0.72 per cent lower to 7,814.54, extending losses for another session.

The index had gained more than 5 per cent in the run-up to the FTSE Russell decision to upgrade Saudi equities.

“We expected FTSE to announce the inclusion of Saudi in their EM Index. The muted market reaction suggests that retail investors were positioned for it and were in no rush to add exposure. At 17.5x trailing twelve-month earnings, the overall market valuation is not cheap and at a small premium to its historical average,” Al Mal Capital said in a note.

Alinma Bank closed 0.73 per cent lower to 20.44 Saudi riyals. Saudi Basic Industries Corp closed 0.18 per cent lower to 116.20 riyals. Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co closed more than 2 per cent higher to 12.82 riyals. Elsewhere in the Gulf, the Qatar exchange index closed 1.11 per cent higher to 8,669.04. The Muscat MSM 30 index closed 0.76 per cent lower to 4,737.17. The Bahrain all share index closed 1.16 per cent lower to 1,303.14. The Kuwait index closed 1.08 per cent lower to 4,945.90.