The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) had another dreary session yesterday with no active trading on the bourse. Except Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (Adib), other banking stocks weighed on the index, pulling it down, and the ADX general index fell a marginal 0.15 per cent, or 4.27 points, to end the session at 2805.35 points.
Telecom shares rose as Qatar Telecom and etisalat closed higher. Qatar Telecom added 8.34 per cent to close at Dh174, while etisalat moved marginally upwards by 0.95 per cent and ended at Dh10.65.
Indicating the undercurrent of weak sentiment, 14 stocks retreated, eight advanced and five remained at their previous levels. The other major gainers of the day were Agthia, Adib and RAK White Cement, while QCEM, InvestB, ADNH, ADCB and UNB were the top losers.
Realty stocks showed a mixed pattern of trading with RAK Properties and Sorouh easing while Aldar moved up, gaining a marginal 0.24 per cent to close at Dh4.17. News that work was progressing on time at the Raha Beach infrastructure project, and Aldar was expected to meet its unit delivery commitments, also brought cheer to investors.
Among other stocks in the sector, RAK Properties eased 1.92 per cent and closed at Dh0.51, while Sorouh declined 0.81 per cent to end at Dh2.44.
"I don't expect exceptional Q1 earnings from Aldar and Sorouh due to a lack of project handovers. On the banking side, all eyes will be on the quality of earnings, more specifically the provisions and net interest margins," Hassan El Salah, Deputy Head of Institutional Equities at Al Ramz Securities, told Emirates Business.
Barring the telecom and energy sectors, all remaining sub-indices closed in the red as the construction, banking, insurance and realty sectors eased with less than a percent in losses. The consumer sector, meanwhile, fell 1.95 per cent. Among energy stocks, Aabar eased 0.44 per cent to close at Dh2.24, Taqa moved 0.81 per cent up and closed at Dh1.25, while Dana Gas closed flat at Dh0.88. RAK White Cement shares gained 0.97 per cent to close at Dh1.04.
"The ADX index stayed below its pivot level of 2811 points yesterday. It could fall until the 2792-point supports. A break above 2811 points can be considered bullish until 2830," said Shiv Prakash, Equity Investment Analyst at MAC Capital Advisors.
ADIB gains after results
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (Adib) announced its results after trading hours on Monday, in anticipation of which the stock had earlier touched a six-month high of Dh3.18 at the day's close.
Beating forecasts, Adib's first quarter net profit increased 9.3 per cent and this brought cheer to investors. Adib shares gained 1.26 per cent to close at Dh3.22 yesterday.
Turnover below Dh100m
With trading sentiment remaining bleak, turnover dwindled by 36.43 per cent on the ADX yesterday as it recorded a modest trading value of Dh86.70m, down from Dh136.39m on Monday.
The UAE capital's bourse recorded a volume of 46.90 million shares in over 1,346 deals in 27 stocks.
Qatar, Muscat recover
Two GCC markets Qatar and Muscat staged a modest recovery yesterday as the Saudi Arabian, DFM, ADX, Kuwaiti and Bahraini indices closed in the red.
Arresting a four-session drop, the Qatari bourse recovered 0.74 per cent after hitting a three-week low on Monday, while the Muscat index recovered 0.33 per cent. The Saudi Tadawul lost more than two per cent yesterday as the Saudi Telecom stock fell to it lowest so far this year after the announcement of the first quarter results.
The drop in Saudi Telecom's net profit, which was contrary to expectations, disappointed investors.
Another market major, Zain Saudi Arabia, also fell more than three per cent.
By Sreenivasa Rao Dasari
© Emirates Business 24/7 2010
