Markets wait for cue in results

Bourses are also waiting for clarity on Aabar's delist plan.

Aldar shares rose 0.3 per cent.

Regional markets remained in a holding pattern yesterday, awaiting earnings reports and clarity about Aabar Investments's plan to delist its shares from the Abu Dhabi bourse. The Dubai Financial Market General Index lost 0.2 per cent to 1,504.71, and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) General index added 0.3 per cent to 2,526.58.

"There is no movement in the market to change the direction we're in," said Mohammed Ali Yassin, the chief executive of Shuaa Securities. "It's only in the movement of specific shares against the index that give some indication of the companies that may have surprises," he said. More second-quarter results will be announced in the next week and investors will be hoping for positive surprises. In Abu Dhabi, Aldar Properties added 0.3 per cent to close at Dh2.69, while Aabar Investments gained 1.4 per cent to close at Dh1.45. Aabar shares finished at the same price being offered by the company's majority shareholder, International Petroleum Investment Company, to buy out the company's minority shareholders. An opinion expected yesterday by a government committee about the offer had not been released by the time the ADX closed.

On the Dubai exchange, Emaar Properties fell 0.3 per cent to Dh3.29. The Dubai bourse's shares, traded under the stock symbol DFMC, dropped 0.6 per cent to Dh1.48. Arabtec Holding dropped 0.5 per cent to Dh1.73. Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait's measure rose 0.5 per cent to 6,540.70, Qatar's moved up 0.8 per cent to 7,018.48, and Muscat's inched up 0.1 per cent to 6,215.26. Bahrain's measure remained largely unchanged at 1,389.58, and the Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index dropped 0.67 per cent to 6,174.74.