The Abu Dhabi market closed over 2%, to its lowest level in three months, today Friday after its largest bank by assets, First Abu Dhabi Bank, posted lower-than-expected profits.
The Abu Dhabi index fell 2.7%, recording its biggest daily loss since mid-May, under 4.8% downward pressure on First Abu Dhabi Bank.
On Thursday, the bank posted net income of AED2.5 billion ($680.66 million) in the fourth quarter, down 26% from a year ago and below analysts’ estimates of AED2.95 billion.
Other losers include the Abu Dhabi National Power Company (also known as Taqa), which lost 8.2%, while investment firm Multipleplay’s share fell 6.7%.
Daniel Taki El-Din, BD Suisse’s general manager for the Middle East and North Africa, told Reuters that the Abu Dhabi index continues to decline under pressure from First Abu Dhabi Bank’s weak performance, indicating that any modest performance in the oil markets is doing stocks without significant support.
The core index of Dubai fell by 0.8% due to large losses in the utilities sector and in the real estate sector, which have a weight in the index.
Shares of Emirates Corporation for Central Cooling Systems tumbled 4.6%, its worst daily performance since it first hit the market, while leading stock Emaar Properties shed 1.6%.
