13/10/2015 05:54 AST
The UAE’s equity markets ended the day’s trade on Monday almost flat, with the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index going up 0.25 per cent to reach 3,722.59.
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index slid 0.09 per cent to reach 4,561.31 as a lack of catalysts in the market continued to limit trade values. On DFM, Dh254.5 million were traded, while ADX saw just Dh174.4 million in trade.
The DFM index gradually fell throughout the day to reach a low of around 3,700, but managed to bounce back just half an hour before the market closed, ending at 3,722.59.
Sebastien Henin, head of asset management at The National Investor, said investors are waiting for companies to announce their third quarter results in order to take a call on whether to invest or not.
“If we want trade values to pick up, we need major stories related to companies or the overall environment, so if we have some news, be it positive or negative, with the results, you might see some price movements,” he said.
Henin added, “I’m expecting the market to trade sideways and stay quiet. On the short term, I don’t know what the catalyst could be because I’m not expecting surprises with the Q3 results. Volatility with oil prices should also be limited.”
Though analysts have continued to say that valuations are attractive at this point, Henin said that catalysts are still very much needed to drive the market, with local investors focusing on momentum rather than valuations.
“So far, foreign investors are reluctant to allocate money to emerging markets, and we have seen a lot of redemptions across emerging markets. In the current environment, we will not get any flow,” he said.
In Dubai, most share prices ended higher, albeit with less than one per cent in gains. Emaar went up 0.58 per cent, Arabtec rose 0.53 per cent, Damac grew 0.32 per cent, and Dubai Ports World ended 0.47 per cent higher.
However, Gulf Finance House and Amanat both fell 1.25 per cent and 1.02 per cent respectively.
In the capital, Abu Dhabi Ship Building topped the gainers’ list with an increase of 2.96 per cent, followed by Sharjah Islamic Bank with 2.56 per cent, Union National Bank with 2.52 per cent, Sharjah Cement and Industrial Development Co with 1.9 per cent, and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) with 1.89 per cent.
Of the 34 stocks traded on DFM, 18 went up, 14 went down, and two remained unchanged. Of the 23 stocks traded on ADX, 11 advanced, six declined, and six remained flat.
Gulfnews
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