UAE stocks ended the day mixed yesterday in lacklustre trading as investors waited on the sidelines for third-quarter earnings.
Abu Dhabi’s benchmark stock measure, the ADX General Index, rose 0.2 per cent, while the Dubai Financial Market General Index slipped 0.6 per cent. Etisalat, the country’s biggest telecoms company, led gains in Abu Dhabi while Amlak Finance, the Sharia-compliant mortgage company, led the decline in Dubai.
“UAE stocks have been very range-bound and volatile on relatively low volumes,” said Sachin Mohindra, a portfolio manager at Invest AD, an Abu Dhabi-based asset management firm. “That’s been the story for pretty much all of August, September, now even in October. People are now waiting for quarterly results.”
He said UAE stocks have been pretty much taking cues from global markets, which have been equally volatile as investors debate when the US Federal Reserve may raise rates, the extent of China’s slowdown and whether as a result commodity prices will remain depressed for an extended time.
The announcement on Monday by the telecoms authority that Etisalat will no longer have a monopoly on fixed lines failed to dent interest in the stock amid ongoing speculation that the company’s shares will next month be included in the MSCI Emerging Markets index, a benchmark measure for the asset class, after it moved to allow foreigners to hold stakes earlier this year. The stock rose 2 per cent.
“I think the stock is up because of MSCI,” said Sanyalak Manibhandu, the head of research at NBAD Securities. “It’s not because of the company’s operations but because people think that there are enough institutional investors to get Etisalat on the MSCI list in November.”
mkassem@thenational.ae
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
