Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange Maintains A Positive Trend In The Third Quarter

The General Index of Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) accumulated more than 6.3% of gains during the third quarter of 2010 as compared to the second quarter of the same year, the official figures revealed.

The general index stood at 2,677.31 points by the close of the trading session on September 30, 2010, compared to 2,531.44 points on June 30, 2010, with the total value and volume of trading increasing by 1.9% and 2.1% respectively during the same period.

The total value of traded shares amounted to AED7.54 billion through a volume of 3.85 billion shares, of which UAE nationals accounted for 59.6% or AED5.27 billion through trading 66.8% of the total traded shares, or 2.57 billion shares.

The top gainer was Gulf Livestock Company, accumulating 76.46% of gains during the period, from AED4.12 to AED7.27, followed by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank which advanced by 50.66% from AED1.52 to AED2.29 and Waha Capital which closed 36.36% higher.

In terms of values and volumes, Al Dar Properties remained to be the most liquid share accounting for 27.5% of the total value of trading with AED2.08 billion worth of transactions, and 22.5% of the total volume of traded shares with 865.3 million shares changing hands. Dana Gas, Aabar Investment, Sorouh Real Estate were also among the most liquid shares.

“One of the healthy signs is the increasing active role of institutional investors in trading activities, accounting for 47.5% of the total value of purchases compared to 32.5% in the third quarter of 2009, and 42.63% of the total value of sales compared to 28.4% during the same period last year.” commented Rashed Al Baloushi, ADX’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Operations.

“Overall, the positive trend during the period has resulted from several encouraging indicators, including the upgrade of the UAE from a Frontier Market to an Emerging Market by FTSE and the positive results for the investor and listed companies surveys released by ADX this year,” he added.

The real estate sector remained to be the most active during Q3 2010, accounting for about 40% of the total value and volume of traded shares, while foreign investors continued to play an active role with a share of 40.4% of the total value of purchases and 41.5% of the total value of sales.

The energy sector recorded the best performance during the period, with the sub-index shooting up by 19.7% after gaining 26.8 points to close at 163 points by September 30, 2010, followed by the Healthcare, Industry and Construction sub-indices, advancing by 5.4%, 5.3% and 4.4% respectively. Nevertheless, seven of the nine sectors that classify listed companies at ADX recorded gains with only the Real Estate and the Insurance sub-indices retreating by 4.5% and 1.3% respectively.

“The performance of many listed companies is clearly reflecting the strength of the economy and the growth potentials, and this was translated in share prices where we find companies like Taqa, Abu Dhabi Ship Building, Union National Bank and Dana Gas all advancing in terms of market value by more than 20% during the period,” Al Baloushi concluded.