Abu Dhabi stocks get lift

Investors favour Abu Dhabi stocks on valuation grounds. Etisalat, UNB and ADCB lifted Abu Dhabi's benchmark higher yesterday as Gulf bourses dropped amid global market turmoil.

Etisalat's share price gained 0.3 per cent yesterday.
Powered by automated translation

Telecommunications and banking lifted Abu Dhabi stocks yesterday as valuations were considered cheaper compared with Saudi Arabia and Qatari markets amid global market turmoil.

Financial Fallout: Read The National's coverage of the global economic chaos

Oil tumbles as gold tops $1,700 World stocks tumbled yesterday as investors fretted about the rate of global growth after Standard & Poor's cut its rating for the US on Friday. Read article

Investment advice never more timely Worried about the dwindling value of your stock portfolio after the market mayhem? Advisers say stay calm. Read article

Gulf businesses will find it harder to get funding Big businesses in the Gulf face rising borrowing costs as a result of the US and euro zone troubles. read article

Etisalat, the largest telecoms operator in the country, was up 0.3 per cent to Dh2.98 a share. Union National Bank was up 1.2 per cent to Dh3.34, while Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank was up 0.3 per cent to Dh2.98. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was up 0.3 per cent to 2,612.80 points.

"Valuations are good so investors are rotating out of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, whose markets have more exposure to oil, and following the global economic environment," said Saleem Khokhar, the head of equities at National Bank of Abu Dhabi. "The UAE never really rallied in the first place, so during a time of turbulence, I would rather be in the UAE than Saudi Arabia or Qatar. That's what it all comes down to."

Property stocks fell the most on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) yesterday. Emaar Properties was down 1.7 per cent to Dh2.83 a share. Drake and Scull International, a contractor, dropped 0.4 per cent to 92 fils. The DFM General Index was down 0.7 per cent to 1,473.07.

Elsewhere in the region: Kuwait's measure slipped 0.2 per cent to 5,956.40; Bahrain's measure lost 0.1 per cent to 1,274.69; Oman's index was down 0.8 per cent to 5,604.92; and Qatar's index was down 0.7 per cent to 8,215.06 points. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index was down 0.3 per cent to 6,057.79.