Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) closed at a slight rise on Thursday, the last trading session of the week, as the index inched up 0.03% or 1.45 points and closed at 4,373.13 points. This follows a strong wave of losses in Gulf markets earlier today, following the announcement of a Saudi-led military operation against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

A wide range of Gulf allies and the US have announced their support for the airstrikes against the rebels, who have waged a campaign against the government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi since last year and recently seized the southern city of Aden, where the president has taken refuge.

Traded volume grew as 119.08 million shares were traded at a value of AED 258.933 million on Thursday against 103.14 million shares on Wednesday at a turnover of AED 236.29 million.

The banking sector boosted the benchmark index in the last few minutes before closing as Invest Bank surged 13.12% and First Gulf Bank (FGB) grew 1.76%.

The investment sector added 1.39% as Waha Capital saw similar gains. The consumer staples sector increased 0.61% as Agthia rose 0.7%.

Meanwhile, the energy sector fell 3.23% as Dana Gas dropped 5%, while the real estate sector retreated 2.76% as Eshraq and Aldar slid 4.35% and 2.13%, respectively. The telecom sector and its stock Etisalat shed 0.40%.

The declines seen on UAE markets are not due to weak stocks but are more of a reflection of the absence of confidence and external impacts, analysts told Mubasher.