By: Mahmoud Gamal
Dubai – Mubasher: Investors in the UAE stock markets are anticipating new positive catalysts, including interim financial results and firms’ future expansion and new projects to encourage them to re-pump liquidity in stocks.
The local bourses are still volatile despite the bullish trend they saw last month, which notably impacted liquidity in the markets during the summer holiday, in line with the Abraaj Group’s and Drake and Scull International’s crises taking place.
The UAE’s twin bourses are likely to recover as further financial results will be announced, especially after the Eid Al-Adha holiday, analysts told Mubasher.
New expansion
The UAE markets are heading to maintain the sideways trend in August, managing director of asset management at MenaCorp Tariq Qaqish said.
Interim financial results of listed-firms are the main factor to set the local bourses’ trend over the coming period, in addition to plans of new projects and future expansions, Qaqish indicated.
Attractive prices of equities and robust banks' results for the first half of 2018 act already as market-boosting catalysts, but the greatest challenge for the UAE markets is luring liquidity again, he highlighted.
He forecast investors to incline toward trading on blue-chip stocks such as Emaar Properties as the company has changed its strategy towards investing in the hospitality sector and has sold some of its assets to operate some hotels instead of owning them.
Accordingly, this will boost Emaar’s cash inflow and strengthen shareholders’ confidence in the company, he noted.
Some investors are losing confidence in the UAE stock markets as many companies have uncovered their exposure to the Abraaj Group crisis, Qaqish said.
