Shares in telecoms were among the gainers in regional markets this morning as the defensive nature of the sector shifted back into focus for investors.
The telecoms sector is traditionally seen as a stable investment during times of economic volatility and is expected to come back into focus, a note from Rasmala investment bank said this morning.
"We expect volatility in the medium term, but see several bargains and believe the investment case for broadband growth in the Mena region remains intact."
The bank upgraded its recommendations for Egypt's Mobinil, Vodafone Qatar, du and Nawras in Oman. Shares in Nawras were trading up 1.1 per cent to 735 fils on the Muscat Index and Vodafone Qatar rose 2.6 per cent to 7.98 Qatari riyals, the highest point since February 13.
But in the UAE, shares in the telecoms duopoly du and Etisalat were in negative territory as both fell 1.3 per cent to Dh3.10 and 0.5 per cent to Dh10.35 respectively.
Fadi al Said, a senior fund manager at ING Investment Management in Dubai, said both companies are mostly closed to institutional investors in the UAE, so are not entirely reflective of money movement in the local markets.
There is a 22 per cent limit on foreign ownership in du shares, while Etisalat is completely closed to foreign investors.
Instead traders in Abu Dhabi and Dubai shifted their attention to impending first quarter results for the heavyweight banking and construction sectors.
The Dubai Financial Market fell 0.24 per cent to 1,550.75 points and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange shed 0.2 per cent of its value at 2,604.88 points.
