Dubai: UAE indices trod water on Tuesday as traders awaited fresh leads amid a lack of interest that reflected in lower traded value.
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index closed 0.41 per cent lower at 2,818.19 due to weakness in Emaar Properties, which fell 2.38 per cent to end at Dh4.92.
Dubai Islamic Bank closed 1.59 per cent higher at Dh5.10. Emaar Development closed more than 2.33 per cent higher at Dh5.27.
In other stocks, DP World closed 2.38 per cent higher at $21.50 (Dh78.96).
“With little news to go on, investors have turned away from small caps and placed their money in larger, familiar companies,” Issam Kassabieh, senior analyst with Menacorp, said.
Traded value, which came in at Dh138 million, remained on the lower side. This compares with traded value of more than Dh250 million a few weeks ago.
“Low volumes are expected to persist and any negative sentiment that lingers will be given time to clear up,” Kassabieh said.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) General Index closed 0.36 per cent higher at 4,956.76 on the back of rising First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) shares.
“Investors anticipate strong performance from First Abu Dhabi Bank as the year-end nears and the company moves closer to its targets of better product integration and utilising cost synergies,” Kassabieh said.
FAB closed 0.34 per cent higher at Dh14.65, while Adnoc Distribution ended the day 2.94 per cent up at Dh2.45, and etisalat closed 1.2 per cent higher at Dh16.85.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul index was 0.31 per cent higher at 8,024.94. Most of the gains came in from energy and consumer services stocks.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp closed 0.80 per cent higher at 126.40 Saudi riyals (Dh123.69), while Alinma Bank closed 0.09 per cent lower at 21.98 riyals. Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co. closed 0.98 per cent lower at 10.14 riyals. The Muscat MSM 30 index closed 0.37 per cent higher at 4,409.68. The Qatar exchange index closed 0.57 per cent at 9,858.34.
