The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) extended its gains at the close of trading on Thursday, adding over Dhs7 billion to its market capitalisation, driven by gains in leading bank stocks. Meanwhile, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) closed slightly down, according to trading data.

The total market capitalisation of listed shares reached Dhs3.49 trillion at the end of Thursday’s trading session, comprising Dhs2.795 trillion for ADX-listed shares and Dhs695.8 billion for DFM-listed shares.

Local stocks attracted over Dhs1.5 billion in liquidity at the end of the session, distributed as follows: Dhs1.12 billion on the ADX and Dhs396.3 million on the DFM. Over 533.1 million shares were traded in more than 30,700 transactions.

On ADX, International Holding Company (IHC) led the trading activity, attracting the highest liquidity of Dhs196.8 million. Alpha Dhabi Holding followed closely behind with Dhs84.3 million in liquidity, while Adnoc Gas and Multiply Group generated Dhs80.8 million and Dhs61.8 million in liquidity, respectively.

On DFM, Emaar Properties emerged as the most actively traded stock, attracting Dhs139.8 million in liquidity. Air Arabia followed with Dhs29.3 million in liquidity, while Emaar Development and Dubai Islamic Bank generated Dhs28.9 million and Dhs26.3 million in liquidity, respectively.

Separately, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank has secured three prestigious awards during the second cycle of the Nafis Award, underscoring its commitment to fostering Emirati talent and advancing the goals of national development.

The Nafis Award, an initiative launched as part of the ‘Projects of the 50’ agenda, aims to enhance the competitiveness of Emirati human resources and empower them to occupy jobs in the private sector.

Abdullah Nasser Al Nuaimi, ADIB’s employee in the Legal Department, won first place in the specialised jobs category, while Shafiqa Mohammed Al-Salami, ADIB’s employee in the Compliance Department placed second in the banking jobs category. Nouf Al-Ali, an employee from the call centre department, secured the third position in the retail and customer service jobs.

In addition, ADIB as a corporation received the Silver Category Award from Nafis in recognition of its exceptional efforts in Emiratisation, and its contribution to enhancing the competitiveness and participation of Emiratis in the workforce.

Commenting on the achievement, ADIB’s Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Bushra Al Shehhi said, “We take great pride in the esteemed recognition that our colleagues obtained in the second cycle of the Nafis Award. This honour will undoubtedly inspire more individuals to emphasise the quality and expertise of their contributions to the work environment. In accordance with the vision and directives of our leadership, a strategic priority for ADIB is the development and empowerment of local competencies and talents. Our objective is to foster collaboration among all our partners and develop leadership programmes and specialised job training to nurture the upcoming generation of banking industry executives.”

Global stocks waver: Stock markets wavered on Thursday following record-breaking rallies that were fuelled by cooling US inflation.

Wall Street was mixed in early trading, with the Dow flat as it stood close to the 40,000-point mark while the broad-based S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq built on gains from the day before.

Following Wednesday’s dramatic surge that led to records across the major US indices, “the market has earned the right to just pause and consolidate that move,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments.

London, Paris and Frankfurt stock markets were all in the red in afternoon trading, one day after striking their own records over expectations of rate cuts in the eurozone and the UK.

“Profit-taking is likely to be the main driver behind today’s weakness in stocks,” City Index analyst Fawad Razaqzada told AFP.

“Given that we have not had any major catalysts to drive markets lower, I would not be surprised if the small dip is bought yet again” by traders, which would send European markets back into positive territory.

Asian equities rallied Thursday after US data showed inflation cooled last month, fuelling speculation that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates twice this year and sending Wall Street to record heights on Wednesday.

“European markets have failed to follow the bullish theme set in the United States,” said Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.

“The FTSE 100 in particular has been hindered by the heavy weighting of energy stocks” as a large component of the index.

US inflation came in at 3.4 per cent in April on an annual basis, down from 3.5 per cent in March, data showed Wednesday.

The April reading was in line with forecasts and capped a run of three straight months above estimates that had forced investors to reel in their rate cut hopes.

Sentiment was given an extra boost by figures showing retail sales well below expectations, suggesting consumers were taking a step back.

Fed data on Thursday showed US factory output was flat in April, missing analyst expectations of a third straight monthly increase.

Yet traders remain anxious because US inflation remains well above the Fed’s two-per cent target.

WAM/Agencies