Local bourses were mixed at the open in the absence of local catalysts for investors to take a call, ahead of index bench-marker MSCI's possible upgrade to emerging market status.
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Last Updated: May 04, 2011
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"The mood feels like summer trading, the only exciting thing to watch for is the MSCI" said Fadi al Said, a senior fund manager at ING Investment Management in Dubai. "On the other hand the market isn't negative, with investors holding their equities and keeping reserve cash on the side assuming anything happens."
The UAE is currently considered a frontier market. The Middle East and North Africa head at MSCI,Manuel Rensink, told reporters at a conference in Abu Dhabi yesterday the process of being upgraded was moving at a "positive" pace.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was up 0.3 per cent to 2698.12 points, led by property stocks. Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi's biggest developer, was up 1.2 per cent to Dh1.60, while Sorouh Real Estate, the capital's second biggest, was up 0.7 per cent to Dh1.47.
Dubai's benchmark, the Dubai Financial Market General Index slipped by 0.1 per cent to 1628.07. Drake and Scull International was unchanged at Dh1.84, after the contractor announced it had been awarded a Dh180 million contract for a major project in Abu Dhabi.
On the Nasdaq Dubai, DP World was down 0.6 per cent to 67 cents a share.
Elsewhere in the region, both Kuwait and Bahrain's measures were unchanged at 6497.00 and 1405.73 respectively. Oman and Qatar's indexes were little changed at 6351.53 and 8509.87 respectively. The Saudi Tadawul All Share Index was down 0.3 per cent to 6694.14.
