By: Mahmoud Gamal
Dubai – Mubasher: UAE stock markets are expected to continue incurring profit-taking on Monday, particularly after several listed banks denied news of a merger and as investors wait to see the movement of oil and global markets, analysts told Mubasher.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange's (ADX) general index resumed its losses on Sunday, dropping 1.66%, while the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) shed 0.25% by the end of the session.
UAE bourses continue to trade at levels that may prompt further decline and profit-taking amid low liquidity, capital market analyst Mohamed El Sawy told Mubasher in an emailed statement.
He noted that investors were shying away from the market.
Market analyst Ahmed Abdel Jalil concurred and added that profit-taking was likely to continue after it was confirmed that ADX-listed banks were not going to merge.
On Sunday, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) and Union National Bank (UNB) denied news regarding possible merger, according to bourse statements.
ADCB said that its executive management was not aware of such a merger, while UNB stated it did not receive any information in the matter from an official authority. Moreover, ADIB said it did not discuss any mergers.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that the emirate of Abu Dhabi was planning to merge ADCB and UNB and to combine ADIB with Al-Hilal Bank.
Market capitalisation dropped by as much as AED 8 billion by the end of Sunday's session following the statements released by the three banks.
As for the DFM's performance, analyst Badr Al-Darzy told Mubasher that the DFMGI was likely to continue trading between 3,380 and 3,200 points this week.
Any break above these levels is likely to change the market's direction, he added.
It is important that the ADX maintains its position above 4,200 points amid the current fluctuations, Darzi noted. He confirmed that a liquidity surge would boost investor confidence in UAE markets.
Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi
