ADX remains flat despite rise in volume

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange witnessed a mixed pattern of trading yesterday as energy, realty and healthcare stocks rose while the remaining sectors closed in the red. Mirroring the restrictive movement, the general index closed almost flat but on the lower side for a third consecutive session as it lost 11.82 points, or 0.41 per cent, to close at 2,849.28 points. Reflecting the underlying positive sentiment, the bourse recorded turnover of Dh376.56 million, up from Dh309.35m on Tuesday, and volume of 169.54 million shares across 3,343 transactions involving 33 stocks. In a mixed trading pattern on the bourse, 12 stocks advanced, 18 declined and three closed at their previous levels. The trading pattern on the ADX has differed from the high volatility seen on the DFM. There was flat trading in large caps and brisk trading in small stocks, with most of the activity concentrated on selected active stocks. "The ADX is stable and that's good for investors," senior financial analyst Wadah Al Taha told Emirates Business. "There has been good buying of stocks that have been selected to create a balanced portfolio to offset any possible negative impact from the high volatility on the DFM." The index opened positively above 2,865 points and immediately breached the 2,870-point level. After remaining stable in the first half of the session the index slipped in the second half. The closing level was the session's low, indicating that day traders were engaging in marginal profit taking. Shiv Prakash, a senior technical analyst at MAC Capital, said: "Intraday, the market is expected to be sideways down with lower supports at 2,841/2,833 and resistance coming at 2,863/2,878." Top day's biggest gainers were Rapco, Agthia, Taqa, Bank of Sharjah and Julphar, while the main losers included Commercial Bank International, Abu Dhabi National Hotels, Methaq, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Bildco. Aldar added 1.95 per cent to close at Dh4.18, Sorouh gained 0.81 per cent and closed at Dh2.49, while RAK Properties closed flat at Dh0.54. Among energy stocks, Aabar added 1.32 per cent and closed at Dh2.30 while Dana Gas closed flat at Dh0.90. ADCB, which has exposure to Dubai World, eased 4.06 per cent to Dh1.89. The other banking stocks that fell were Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank International, First Gulf Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Islamic Bank, Union National Bank and Waha Capital. (Sreenivasa Rao Dasari) Taqa in limelight Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) shares were among the day's top gainers as the stock rose by 4.13 per cent to close at Dh1.27 after the company announced dividend of 10 fils per share. Taqa's revenues were flat at Dh16.9 billion in 2009 compared with Dh16.8bn in 2008, while net profits dropped to Dh182mn from Dh1.8bn. Taqa, Methaq, ADIB and Foodco disclosed their financial results to the bourse, and Sharjah Insurance Company submitted the results of its board meeting to the exchange. Taqa made a gain of Dh260 million last year from bond buyback. GCC sees sideways trading The Qatar bourse led yesterday's gains on the GCC markets, followed by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Muscat, while the DFM, ADX and Kuwait closed lower. The latest forecast of an increase in oil demand has brought cheer to GCC investors. The continuing rise in Sabic, Al Rajhi Bank and Sabic helped Saudi Arabia's Tadawul to move further up to 6,674 points, its highest level since October 15, 2008, when it touched 7,000. The Saudi government has allowed foreign investors to invest in ETFs and this improved market sentiment.