Realty and energy lead decliners on ADX

All sectors retreated in Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange yesterday amid selling pressures across the board with real estate and energy sectors leading decliners in the market.

The ADX dropped 30.95 points, 1.13 per cent, to 2719.32 points as real estate stocks such as Aldar, Sorouh and RAKProp faced strong selling pressures. Aldar lost 3.68 per cent to close at Dh3.66 while Sorouh ended at Dh2.12, down by 2.78 per cent. RAKProp was the top active stock by volumes and it ended the session flat at Dh0.51 after it went down to Dh0.49 during intraday trading.

"The real estate sector is leading the downturn on the ADX amid continued worries about the outlook of listed companies and the performance of the sector in general," said Ahmed Tabbo, Financial Analyst at Darahem Brokerage.

"Real estate stocks are also hitting new lows which were never recorded since the beginning of the year. Despite the weightage of the real estate stocks in the ADX index is small, they have a greater impact on the sentiment and movements in the market," he said.

Energy stocks also moved downward. Dana Gas, among the most active stocks, lost 3.45 per cent to close at Dh0.84. Aabar retreated 2.74 to close at Dh2.14 while Taqa declined by 1.61 per cent to Dh1.20.

The market is witnessing negative sentiments on global cues and fluctuating oil prices which continued to weigh on energy stocks.

Banking stocks added further pressure on the ADX yesterday with heavyweights NBAD and FGB dropping by 2.2 and 0.3 per cent respectively. ADCB faced strong selling pressure and ended the session down by 5.56 per cent at Dh1.70.

Global trend affects GCC markets

Downward trend in global markets have had a negative impact on GCC stock markets as all of them retreated yesterday. However, Bahrain Secruities Exchange advanced slight by 0.18 per cent.

Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Shares Index ended down 0.1 per cent as Sabb Bank, HSBC's Saudi affiliate, plunged 5.14 per cent after it said non-performing loans soared more than 16 times to $940.3 million in 2009.

Qatar Stock Exchange was the top loser due mainly to profit booking after dividend payments.

In Kuwait, the market ended 0.3 per cent lower from pressure from telecom heavyweight Zain which lost 3 per cent. Gulf Finance House lost 2.7 per cent to 72 fils, the lowest close on record in Kuwait trading. The stock has fallen more than 25 per cent in the past three months. Muscat Stock Market also went down slightly on pressure from the banking and investment sectors.

Etisalat faces profit booking

Heavyweight etisalat continued to face profit booking yesterday and declined by 0.84 per cent to close at Dh11.80.

Trading on the stock resumed after the company disclosed its consolidated financial results for 2009 showing operating profit before federal royalty reaching Dh17.6 billion, a 16 per cent increase over the 2008 figures. Despite the current profit booking, etisalat is expected to rebound in the near term. "Etisalat added more than Dh1 during the past few sessions and the current retreat is not sustainable as the outlook for the company is strong. We expect the stock to go up again," Ahmed Tabbo said.

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