Abu Dhabi index ends flat due to low turnover

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange ended yesterday's session almost flat at 2,745.19, down 6.09 points or 0.22 per cent. The market saw stable trading with a focus on low-cap stocks, while heavyweights, especially etisalat, put strong pressure on the general index. The telecom group lost 1.44 per cent to close at Dh10.25. Turnover declined during the correction in the market as the trade volume reached 233.6 million shares and trade value reached Dh344.5 million. Real estate stocks continued to dominate the turnover, with Rakprop attracting about 40 per cent of the volumes. The stock fluctuated sharply during the session due to high levels of speculation but ended flat at Dh0.82. Aldar and Sorouh also attracted strong trading and moved marginally. Energy stocks Dana, Taqa and Aabar witnessed active trading and moved in a narrow gap. Waha Capital was the leading gainer after it added six per cent to close at Dh0.88. Waha said it was acquiring 50 per cent of AerVenture, a Dutch aircraft leasing company. Analysts expected a strong correlation between the ADX and the DFM and felt the trend on the global markets would have a strong impact on both markets. "There is stability in the UAE markets at the current stage but movements in global markets will affect sentiment here," said a market analyst at EFG Hermes. Hosam Al Husseini, Head of Brokerage at Emaar Financial Services, agreed that the trend in global markets would have a greater impact on both the ADX and DFM during the coming weeks. "The other main mover for the local markets will be movements by institutional investors, local and foreign," he said. "Any sharp movements in global markets or trading activities by institutions will affect trading on local markets." Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the daily Emirates Business 24|7 newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here .