Flat trade on UAE bourses despite emerging market rally

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market ended virtually flat on Wednesday, even as emerging market stocks staged a partial rally.

The MSCI Emerging Markets index rose 0.4 per cent in midday trading.

“There are still too many moving parts that blur the investment picture, including the drop in commodity prices and uncertainty on the global growth outlook,” Simon Ouijano-Evans, the head of emerging market research at Commerzbank, told Bloomberg News.

“Until we see a floor in commodity, and, especially, oil prices, intraday price action is going to be quite mixed,” he said.

Air Arabia was the biggest gainer on the DFM, rising 3.1 per cent.

Invest Bank was the biggest gainer on the ADX, climbing 14.7 per cent, followed by the National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels, which climbed 10.7 per cent.

Abu Dhabi National Hotels was the biggest loser on the ADX, falling 9.9 per cent, while Marka suffered the biggest losses on the DFM, falling 3 per cent.

Seven stocks advanced on the DFM, while 12 fell and 13 remained unchanged. On the ADX, 11 stocks rose and 11 stocks fell, with 39 remaining unchanged.

Bourses in Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia rose, as Brent made marginal gains. It rose $0.13 to $46.72 per barrel.

The Egyptian Exchange rose 2.5 per cent, led by gains in the Commercial International Bank, Ghabbour Auto, and El Sewedy Electric company. The car assembler and distributor, Ghabbour Auto, gained 9.7 per cent, its third rise in a row, after announcing plans to invest US$1.5 billion in new factories and carry out a $134 million rights issue.

The Kuwaiti Stock Exchange rose 0.2 per cent. However, shares in the Kuwait-listed food maker Americana tumbled 3.55 per cent after sources told Reuters on Tuesday that the firm’s sale was close to being put on hold, partly due to differences on price.

Private equity funds KKR and CVC were among the main contenders for the business; last September, Saudi Arabia’s Savola Group said it had appointed JP Morgan to advise on a potential purchase of a stake. Elsewhere, the Muscat Securities MSM 30 Index rose 1 per cent, and the Tadawul Index rose 0.9 per cent.

* with agencies

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