Real estate leads ADX despite low turnover

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) managed to close almost flat yesterday after facing downward movements in early trading, with its index ending at 2679.50 points, a gain of 5.46 points, or 0.2 per cent.

The market opened in the negative area and fell close to its support levels of around 2600 points; it bounced up again after the reappearance of some buying interest. However, the market remained weak and turnover continued to be at low levels, with 79.7 million shares worth Dh224.1 million changing hands. Leading stocks also moved in a very narrow range and heavyweights in telecom and banking sectors were almost flat.

Real estate stocks continued to lead the market, with Aldar, Sorouh and Rakprop gaining 2.65 per cent, 2.33 per cent and 1.82 per cent respectively. The three stocks dominated almost 50 per cent of the total turnover.

"Aldar will continue to lead the market for now. The stock may surge further to its target of Dh4.92 in the near-term," said Amjad Bakir, VIP Portfolio Trader at Direct Broker for Financial Services.

"The market sentiment remains weak and there is a tendency for a downside as the turnover is still very low. ADX is suffering from a deep shortage of liquidity and leading stocks are moving in a thin range, which is not attractive either for long-term investors or speculators and daily traders."

The energy sector also bounced, after facing a long period of downward movements. Aabar and Taqa advanced by 2.16 per cent and 1.65 per cent respectively, while Dana went down a percent to close at Dh0.96.

Heavyweight etisalat closed flat at Dh11 after it created pressures on the ADX index during intraday trading when the stock went down slightly to Dh10.90


Bank stocks retreat

Banking stocks remained bearish in general on the ADX yesterday, with heavyweight FGB retreating by 2.2 per cent to close at Dh15.55. Other banking stocks reported mixed returns yesterday but moved in a very thin range. United Arab Bank was the first bank to report its 2009 results yesterday. It reported a 12 per cent increase in net profits to Dh280.77 million compared to Dh250.2m in 2008. The UAB stock remained flat at Dh6.82, as there was no trading on the stock.

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