By: Bedour El-Raie
Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) saw an overall positive monthly performance in July backed the energy, telecom and banking sectors.
The general index gained 2.35% or 110.99 points and closed at 4,834.22 points. Trading varied as traded volume increased to 2.5 billion shares against 2.15 billion last month, whereas turnover fell 10% to AED 3.78 billion ($1.03 billion) against AED 4.2 billion ($1.14 billion) in June.
Market analyst Waddah Taha said that the main aspect of UAE markets at present is the weak liquidity, which acts as an impediment, preventing the markets from entering new levels. He added that expects this state of weakness to continue in the coming period and possibly for the next three weeks.
The energy sector surged 13.13%, backed by the UAE government’s announcement that it would deregulate prices starting 1 August and will depend on a global pricing mechanism for gasoline and diesel in order to support the UAE economy, limit fuel consumption and protect natural resources and the environment.
Dana Gas soared 19.6%, while TAQA retreated 2.85%.
The telecom sector increased 1.93% through its stock Etisalat which recently posted a decline in its net profits for the first half of the year.
The banking sector gained 1.87% in July backed by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), which leaped 7.7%, while First Gulf Bank (FGB) and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) added 1.9% and 1.15%, respectively, whereas the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) fell 2.7%.
The banking sector accounted for the lion’s share of July’s turnover, after trading for AED 1.420 billion with ADCB trading for AED 646.31 million alone. Dana Gas was the most active in terms of turnover reaching AED 705 million.
Mithaq topped risers, soaring 85.3%, whereas Al Khazna Insurance led fallers, plunging 16.3%.
The real estate sector reduced the ADX’s gains, falling 1.58% as Aldar dropped 2.18%.
Market analyst Tarek Essawy said that UAE market continue to rely on positive vision as companies announce their financials. He expected an increase in trading once markets exit the bottleneck, which is a transitional period for markets.
Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi
