Despite few local catalysts, most regional markets recovered slightly yesterday after Monday's aggressive sell-off. The Dubai Financial Market General Index moved up 1.3 per cent to 1,590.97, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) General Index fell 0.1 per cent to 2,646.63. "Today's performance is a technical bounce," said Hassan el Salah, the head of institutional trading at AlRamz Securities based in Abu Dhabi. "This was also encouraged by global market's improved sentiment. There's no material difference in news from yesterday [Tuesday] to today [Wednesday]."
Shares of the Dubai Financial Market, traded as DFM, moved up 2.5 per cent to Dh1.59 before its board meeting late yesterday afternoon. Aramex gained 3.5 per cent to Dh1.45, and Shuaa Capital shot up 11.1 per cent to Dh1.40 after the investment bank said on Monday it expected to manage an initial public offering soon. "When the index goes down so much, relatively everything becomes cheap, and bargain hunters come to the markets," Mr el Salah said.
The ADX fell slightly largely because of selling in Etisalat, which accounts for 30 per cent of the index's weight. Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait's main index largely unchanged and Qatar's QE Index rose 0.7 per cent. Bahrain's main index was up 1.2 per cent. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index climbed 1.6 per cent, regaining a portion of its major losses Monday. halsayegh@thenational.ae
