ADX holds Taqa trades

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange fell by 0.16%, Dubai Financial Market fell by 0.47%, Saudi market by %, and Doha by 0.08%.

The Bahrain and Kuwait stock markets rose by 0.76% and 0.50% respectively.

Abu Dhabi stops Taqa shares from trading

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange authorities decided to stop Taqa shares from trading today following a dispute with shareholders on Dhs4.1bn convertible bonds which the company intends to launch.

This will continue until Taqa provides more details on the right of subscription.

Taqa had informed ADX on 9 June that it would begin the sale of convertible bonds for the company's shareholders at Dhs1,000 per one bond, convertible to 500 shares and Dhs1 as nominal value and Dhs1 issuance fees.

ADX authorities said they will re-price the shares based on the new issuance.

Taqa subsequently told ADX authorities on 12 June that subscription would be open to non shareholders and external investors, a decision which was criticized by shareholders who called upon authorities to cancel all trading on the shares done on Wednesday and Thursday.

Mohammed Ali Yassen, a Shuaa Capital financial analyst, said that it would be difficult to cancel trading on Taqa shares on these two days adding that a committee from ADX, Taqa and the market authority needs to be set up to solve the dispute.
Yaseen criticized the company's decision suggesting that the Taqa wanted to raise its capital without changing the price of the share.

Pressure on the Abu Dhabi index came also from the telecom and banking sectors with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Etisalat falling by 2.1% and 0.35% respectively.

Aldar Properties shares registered a new price of Dhs13, rising 2.8% for a total value of Dhs211.8m out of total trading of Dhs1.1bn.
Aldar Properties came second to shares in Methaq which traded Dhs368.7m, rising 7.1%.

Dubai: Major shares lead the decline

DFM fell more sharply than ADX after all major shares witnessed a decline, as the index failed to retain its slight rise during the trading . This was mostly driven by the fluctuations of Emaar shares which fell by 0.89% closing at Dhs11.10.

Dubai Investments shares came into the spotlight today trading Dhs115.3m out of total Dhs533m rising 1.4% to Dhs4.16.

Saudi Tadawul index hits reverse

The Saudi index reversed its track and fell in the last 30 minutes of trading after pressure came from 15 major sectors, with the exception of a slight rise from the Petrochemical and Industrial Investments industries.

Zain, Al Inmaa and Petrorabigh continued to lead the market for the second consecutive day, dominating 38.2% of the total trading valued at SR4.4bn out of a total of SR11.5bn.

Zain changed course, rising 2.8% after the company announced it will start the experimental operation of its network.

Al Inmaa and Petrorabigh fell by 2.5% and 1.6% respectively.

A number of shares in the petrochemical sector led by Sabic rose strongly following a rise in petrochemical prices.
Sabic rose by 0.50%, Al Mutaqademah by 2.8% and Namaa by 1.5%.

Muscat under pressure from banking sector

The banking sector, particularly Muscat bank, led the sharp decline on the Muscat exchange, which failed to stay above the 12.000 points mark.
Muscat bank fell by 5.4% despite strong trading valued at OR4.7m out of total trading of OR20.7m.

The new rating issued by Global on some Omani banks failed to stop the decline in the market.

Muscat bank shares were set by Global at OR2.182 with a recommendation to keep the share which closed today at OR1.888.

Oman National Bank's fair price was set by Global at OR0.848, but declined today by 1.6% and closed at OR0.799.

Analysts said that the failure of the index to stay above its historical mark of 12.000 sent a negative indication for traders and pushed portfolio managers to sell in large quantity, which in turn made small investors panic and start to sell randomly.

Doha lowers losses

Doha stock market lowered its losses in the last 30 minutes after many shares reversed track from falling to rise, including extensive transactions on Khaliji bank which rose by 1.1% trading 3.2 million shares out of total trades of 17.3 million.

Barwa shares rose by 3.3% and managed to stay above QR90.
Like the Muscat market, Doha came under pressure from the banking sector especially Al Rayan which fell by 0.85% and Al Masraf by 1% despite the US$5bn announcement of plans to finance a refinery in Malaysia.

Kuwait and Bahrain post new rises

Agility pushed the Kuwait index to rise after two declining sessions by 4.7% after one of its subsidiaries won a KD174 m deal from the US Army.

The support also came from real estate firms including Arabian Real Estate which rose by 4.8%, trading 47.6 million shares.

The Bahrain market crossed the 2.900 points mark following support from Khaleeji Commercial Bank and Al Salam bank which dominated 70% of the total trades.
Khaleeji bank rose by 1% and Al Salam held steady.
United Gulf Bank rose by 3.8% after a newspaper report, which was denied by the bank, that it is set to merge with National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the largest bank in Abu Dhabi.