Abu Dhabi's benchmark stocks at 7-month high

Abu Dhabi's benchmark stock index rose to its highest level since November yesterday as investors got their first chance to react to significant developments in the capital's banking sector. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), the UAE's third largest lender by assets, reached its highest close in more than two and a half years after selling its 24.9 per cent stake in Malaysian lender RHB Capital Bhd to Aabar Investments on Friday. Investors are also hedging their bets that the UAE will receive an upgrade to emerging markets status by index compiler Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) tomorrow. "The correlation between our bourses and international markets has been broken," said Mohammad Ali Yasin, chief investment officer at CAPM Investment. "If you look at last Wednesday, our markets held up well despite the Dow Jones suffering a day of bloody losses and I see that trend continuing in the short term," he added. The banking sector performed well with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Bank of Sharjah also posting gains with bellwether stocks Aldar, Sorouh and Dana Gas all ending flat. The Dubai Financial Market General Index ended almost flat, slipping 0.14 per cent to 1,598.79. From / Gulf News