Abu Dhabi retreats on realty selling pressures

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange ended yesterday's session at 2,193.68 points after losing 32.41, or 1.46 per cent.

The index shared the same story of the Dubai Financial Market as turnover declined sharply, with 37.8 million shares with a total value of Dh71.1 million changing hands.

A total of 23 stocks declined while seven advanced and one remained unchanged.

Movements by leading stocks including Aldar, Sorouh, Etisalat and Dana Gas continued to put pressure on the index, which declined in the face of strong selling pressure in the real estate and construction sectors.

Real estate declined sharply by 4.5 per cent while the banking sector was neutral. Aldar and Sorouh faced selling pressure and retreated by 4.51 and 4.81 per cent respectively.

Analysts say the market will continue to deteriorate due to the global financial crisis and the correlation with international markets. "The impact of global markets is still very strong and the continuous decline in the markets will increase the negative sentiment in local markets," said Ziad Dabbas, a financial consultant at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

"There is increasing speculation in the market which is leading to more fluctuations in the index. There are quick buy-and-sell movements in the same session."

Dabbas expects the market to continue the downturn trend over the next few weeks until results for the first quarter of 2009 are released.

"These results will be critical for investor sentiment because they will give a clearer view of the performance of listed stocks."


NBAD ends flat

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi ended the session flat at Dh8 after it disclosed its fourth quarter results for 2008. Net profits fell 34 per cent to Dh492 million compared with Dh 744 million in the same period in 2007.

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