Quiet day for regional stocks

UAE stocks shed early gains to close largely unchanged on a quiet day for regional stock markets, as the positive performance in global equities on Monday began to wear off.

Asian markets turned in a mixed performance yesterday; Japan’s Nikkei ended up 1 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed down 0.1 per cent.

European markets were trading in positive territory yesterday. Shares in Dubai rose by over 1 per cent at the opening bell, before paring gains throughout the day, ending up just 0.02 per cent at 3,659.67. Emaar Properties was the main gainer, closing up 1.3 per cent at Dh6.80, its highest level in nearly seven weeks. At the other end of the spectrum, Arabtec Holding finished down 1 per cent at Dh1.91, while Damac Properties slipped by more than 0.6 per cent to Dh3.

In the capital, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index finished down 0.2 per cent at 4,554.68. ADCB rose 0.5 per cent to Dh7.90, while shares in Etisalat declined 0.3 per cent to Dh14.70.

The Qatar Exchange in Doha was the only regional headline index to move more than half a percentage point, ending down 0.1 per cent at 11,453.13.

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawual All Share Index ended the day up 0.01 per cent.

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