ADX rises on strong buying across several counters
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), which had been moving upwards in a restricted range, saw brisk trading yesterday with buying activity seen across several counters.
The general index closed 1.47 per cent, or 39.58 points, higher at 2,724.76 points compared with the previous close of 2,685. But it continued to lag behind its Dubai counterpart in terms of percentage gains. The DFM has greater liquidity and appeals more to foreign investors.
"The Abu Dhabi market has surged ahead with large volumes," said Shiv Prakash, a technical analyst at MAC Capital. "The general index crossed the resistance level of 2,700, which indicates a clear ride until the next level of 2,800 in the short term."
"With Methaq going to its upper limits, and Aldar and Sorouh gaining momentum the overall market trend looked bullish," added Prakash. "Waha closed 3.8 per cent higher at Dh0.82. Methaq looks strong again can test its previous highs in the coming days."
The ADX's bullish sentiment was reflected in the overall gains achieved by all the indices. The Abu Dhabi property sector may regain its appeal to investors much faster than Dubai because of its strong fundamentals, said one analyst.
Aldar Properties was the major gainer – the stock has more than doubled since March 17 – while another realty major, Sorouh Real Estate, added 5.2 per cent and Arkan Building Materials rose 4.7 per cent.
The ADX recorded turnover of Dh1.09 billion as more than 508 million shares changed hands in 8,007 transactions involving 43 scrips. The bourse saw gains by 34 stocks and losses by eight while one remained unchanged.
Emirates Driving, Metha Takaful Insurance, OEIHC and QTEL were among the major gainers, while Finance House, Gulf Cement, Sudan Telecom, Abu Dhabi Ship Building and Foodco Holding were the losers.
Market sentiment remained positive as oil prices hovered around $68 per barrel.
Technical charts indicate if market maintains above 1957, it may rise until 1994/2028 resistance levels. If investors prefer profit booking, then the index may slip below 1957 and next support levels are 1923 and 1886.
Gulf gains momentum
Gulf markets are gaining more momentum by the day on the back of sustained buying interest from all sides.
All the GCC bourses closed higher yesterday, signalling that a strong rally is on the cards. The Cairo stock exchange recorded the highest gain of 2.97 per cent followed by Doha at 2.50 per cent and the DFM at 2.12 per cent.
The Saudi, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Muscat exchanges closed with gains of more than one per cent while Bahrain ended flat.
Banks and petro shares led the gains on the Saudi market as Saudi Basic Industries, Samba Financial and Arab Bank closed higher. Positive news of the Qatari government's decision to buy banks' stock portfolios at the prices that prevailed at the end of 2008 has created fresh buying interest on the bourse. Small-cap stocks were in line with the overall trend as they recorded gains.
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