ADX up 1.2% after positive fourth-quarter earnings

Most traded stocks performed positively on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange yesterday on renewed buying interest following encouraging fourth-quarter results.

The general index rose 1.2 per cent to close at 2,665.04 points, a gain of 31.67 on the previous day's 2,633.37.

Market majors, in particular Aabar and etisalat, pushed the ADX up from the start of trading and throughout the session. Aabar, AKIC, RAK Cement, Bank of Sharjah, RAKWCT and etisalat were the day's top gainers.

"The ADX was, as usual, stable," Vyas Jayabhanu, Head of Al Dhafra Financial Broker, told Emirates Business. "Realty stocks looked good but the volume was still low. Banking results, apart from those of ADCB, have been good so far and this is a positive factor for the market."

Aabar Investments, the largest shareholder in Germany's Daimler AG, posted a fourth-quarter net profit of Dh132.4 million, a net gain of 15 per cent from Dh115.2m the previous year. Aabar posted a 133 per cent rise in its full-year profits for 2009.

"The 133 per cent rise in Aabar brought cheer to the market," added Jayabhanu. "Etisalat's results were below expectations but despite this the telecom major's shares did well in the session."

Weak global markets and oil prices are likely to continue to weigh on market sentiment. "The drop in oil prices may not affect the market much as long as it's above $70 per barrel," said Jayabhanu.

Etisalat announced its performance figures, revealing it had missed analysts' forecasts. The telecom operator did not provide Q4 figures.


MIxed trend

The GCC bourses moved sideways for the second session in a row yesterday as the DFM, ADX, Qatar and Bahrain closed higher while the Saudi, Kuwait and Muscat bourses ended lower with losses of less than the 0.50 per cent. The DFM, with a 2.19 per cent gain, led the bourses, followed by ADX with 1.2 per cent, Qatar with 0.79 per cent and Bahrain with 0.46 per cent.

Profit booking on Sabic and Kingdom Holding pushed the Saudi's Tadawul lower, while banking and petrochemical stocks pushed Qatar's index higher.

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