By: Bedour El Raie

Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange’s (ADX) general index gained 0.42% or 20.96 points to close at 4,967.77 points in the week ended Thursday 18 October, led by the real estate and telecom sectors

During the week, 311.69 million shares were exchanged at a total turnover of AED 776.925 million. Market capitalisation added AED 991 million ($269.764 million) to close at AED 494.251 billion ($134.542 billion) versus last week’s closing at AED 493.260 billion ($134.272 billion).

The real estate sector gained 2.28% after Eshraq Properties and Aldar Properties rose 7.71% and 1.76%, respectively.

The telecom sector rose 1.57%, buoyed by its sole stock, Etisalat.

The services sector added 4.79% boosted by Abu Dhabi National Hotels, which soared 11.3%.

The industrial sector also increased 3.21%, supported by Abu Dhabi Ship Building, which jumped 10.78%.

On the other hand, the energy sector decreased by 0.37% due to the decline of ADNOC Distribution’s stock by 2.17%.

The banks sector fell 0.25% after Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) shed 3.55% and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) plunged 2.20%.

Markets are still seeing a sideways trend, ranging between minor ups and downs amid weak turnover, Eyad Al Bareeqy, general manager at Al Ansari Financial Services, told Mubasher.

Commenting on companies’ results, he said that several have reported robust performance in the third quarter and nine-month periods, noting that as more companies disclose their results, the market will see incentives that will contribute to its rise and to investors’ pumping of additional liquidity.