The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) closed in the red on Monday, for the second successive session, falling 24.53 pts or 0.47% to 5149.80 pts, inching down slightly below the level of 5150 pts.

Around 50.45 million shares changed hands as turnover reached AED 219.74 million with 1562 transactions being executed.

A total of 30 companies traded today, of which 5 gained, 19 retreated and 6 remained unchanged.

The ADX’s decline was due to a semi-collective sector decline led by the industrial and services sectors, which lost 1.38% and 1.13%, respectively. The energy and insurance sectors reported the only gains today, adding 0.98% and 0.49%, respectively, as Al Khazna Insurance and Dana Gas surged by 12.70% and 1.49%, respectively.

Experts believe that these declines are normal due to profit-taking on several stocks, whose prices rose significantly in the previous sessions. Moreover, they expect a positive impact following Standard and Poor’s decision to upgrade the two UAE markets from frontier markets to emerging market status.