Dubai market slips further on thin volumes

Dubai Financial Market (DFM) witnessed another tepid trading session yesterday as investors and institutions preferred to book profits for the second consecutive session after Sunday's rise of more than five per cent.

The DFM general index closed flat at 1827.98 points, registering a marginal loss of 0.24 points, or 0.01 per cent, from its previous close of 1828.22 points.

"DFM closed flat as investors preferred to book profits. Monday's profit taking continued and selling pressure was felt in select stocks, but less concentrated when compared to the previous day," said Ayman El Saheb, director of operations at Darahem Financial Brokerage.

Banks, finance, transport and materials indices rose, while the insurance, real estate and telecom sectors closed in the red. Except the materials index, which gained seven per cent, and the transport index that added 4.70 per cent, all remaining indices closed with less than two per cent gains. The real estate index suffered the highest loss of 17.15 per cent, followed by the insurance sector index, which lost 2.25 per cent.

"It was sideways trading and I think the market was seeing a consolidation after the whopping rise of more than five per cent on Sunday," said Hesham Bakry, institutional sales manager at Al Futtaim HC.

Reflecting the mixed trading pattern, the DFM general index recovered from an early low of 1818 points to show 1840 points – which remained as the day's high – at 12 noon and later shed early gains before closing at 1827.98 points. The index's movement in a restrictive range of 22 points shows lacklustre trading on the Dubai bourse.

Shiv Prakash, technical analyst at MAC Capital, said: "If the market remains below the pivot levels of 1828, we can see some selling until the 1816/1806 supports. Bullishness can be seen again if it breaks the 1828 level to reach the 1838/1860 resistance levels."

Among the gainers yesterday, NCC's stock rose 4.74 per cent to Dh3.76, Aramex closed higher by 3.27 per cent at Dh1.58, Shuaa Capital was up by 1.95 per cent at Dh1.57, Arabtec rose by 1.85 per cent to Dh2.76 and Dar Takaful gained 1.26 per cent to Dh2.42.

El Saheb said: "It's difficult to gauge what it will be in the next few sessions. As long as volumes remain low, it's difficult to predict the market's mood. Of course, market players were waiting for the second quarter results. Most investors preferred to book profits from Sunday's rise, hence the market slipped into pressure. During the summer season and the Ramadan holidays, trading is likely to be only sideways."

Top losers yesterday were Arab Insurance Group (ARIG), Ekttitab, Al Firdous, Takaful-Emarat and Deyaar. ARIG recorded the highest loss of 9.47 per cent and fell to Dh1.72, followed by Ekttitab losing 3.19 per cent to end up at Dh0.91. Al Firdous and Takaful-Emarat shed 3.13 per cent each and closed at Dh0.93 and Dh1.55, respectively, and Deyaar shed 2.60 per cent to Dh0.75.

"The DFM index remained flat with low activity and a trading value of Dh300m. A mixed trend was seen, with some stocks registering gains and a few losing ground. The index closed exactly on yesterday's closing level – 1828 points," said Prakash.

"The UAE markets are likely to go up further as the second quarter results so far announced have been encouraging. Most of the results beat market expectations and brought cheer to investors. DFM and ADX have shown different trading patterns. ADX is stable compared to DFM, as long- and medium-term investors are very keen on the capital's bourse. DFM, meanwhile, has been volatile," said Bakry.

Yesterday, Ajman Bank's stock rose 0.90 per cent to Dh1.10, while Al Salam Bank-Sudan shares slid 1.79 per cent to Dh0.02. Emirates NBD, which announced its second quarter results on Monday, gained 0.61 per cent to Dh3.32. Air Arabia closed at its previous level of Dh0.98 and the scrip witnessed Dh12.67m in trading value. Shares of du dropped 1.06 per cent to Dh2.80.

Meanwhile, National General Insurance Company announced its second quarter results to DFM, while GPI informed that its board meeting would be held on Thursday.


Realty stocks register highest turnover

Realty stocks recorded the highest trading value on DFM yesterday in an otherwise low-trade day.

Arabtec, Emaar, Union Properties and Drake and Scull International accounted for more than Dh183m of the total turnover of Dh300m.

Mathew Wakeman, Managing Director for Cash and Equity-linked Trading at EFG Hermes, said: "UAE markets continued to consolidate on Sunday's gain, but on lower volumes ahead of key earnings declarations for Aldar, Emaar and Arabtec."

Trading turnover has been easing by the day. The turnover crossed the Dh1bn mark on Sunday, when DFM witnessed a record gain of more than five per cent, and eased to Dh724m on Monday.

"Trading volumes are low because investors are not selling at the present levels, as they want the market to go up," said Hesham Bakry, institutional sales manager at Al Futtaim HC.

DFM recorded a trading volume of more than 183 million shares in more than 3,998 deals in 27 scrips.

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