Key Highlights
- TURKI, the Lunate S&P Turkey Shariah ETF, was the busiest ETF versus its own seven-day average at 8.97 times, on 14,335 shares (AED 122.0k), closing 2.20% lower on the day.
- INDI, the Lunate S&P India Shariah ETF, was the best one-day ETF performer at +1.34%, on 3.77 times its seven-day average volume; AGIX, the KraneShares Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF, was the worst at -2.77%, on just 30 shares.
- UAEA, the Lunate S&P UAE Shariah ETF, led the ETF board by value at AED 252.0k, closing 1.48% lower on the day.
- BILDCO, the Abu Dhabi National Co. for Building Materials, closed 4.98% higher on the day and is up 28.18% over the week from its 2026-08-25 base.
- ASM was the equity board's worst one-day performer at -4.07%; BOS was the best at +5.88%.
- Exchange-wide turnover was AED 1.34bn across 99 active tickers, 6.4% lower than the previous session.
- IHC, the International Holding Company PJSC, carries AED 152.24m of net weekly selling pressure.
Market Overview
Wednesday's ADX session was bearish on both boards, and the ETF board carried the day's most distinctive signal. TURKI, the Lunate S&P Turkey Shariah ETF, traded 8.97 times its seven-day average volume, comfortably the busiest ETF relative to its own norm, while closing 2.20% lower on the day. Of the 19 ETFs whose one-day move is measured against the immediately preceding session, 12 closed lower. That extends the broad ETF decline flagged in Tuesday's Market Wrap.
The tension is that elevated activity did not equal buying. The three thematic funds that joined TURKI at multiples of normal volume, QUANTM, AIPOWR and UAEA, all closed lower. On the equity side, 45 of 69 measured names ended lower against 12 higher and 12 unchanged, exchange-wide turnover of AED 1.34bn was 5.0% below the average of the 8 prior sessions in the feed, and AED 114.74m more value crossed at the bid than at the ask. Only a handful of speculative names ran against the tide.
ETFs
UAEA, the Lunate S&P UAE Shariah ETF, topped the ETF board by value at AED 252.0k on 29,017 shares, 2.42 times its seven-day average volume, while closing 1.48% lower on the day and 2.14% lower over the week from its 2026-08-25 base. Despite the price decline, it carries AED 184.2k of net weekly buying pressure, the clearest divergence between price and order-book activity on the board.
TURKI ranked 2nd by value at AED 122.0k, and its 8.97 times volume multiple made it the session's most unusual ETF print by a wide margin. The fund is down 2.98% over the week from its 2026-08-25 base and carries AED 37.4k of net weekly selling pressure, so the surge in activity has so far leant to the sell side rather than accumulation.
The thematic names also traded heavily and lower. QUANTM, the Boreas Solactive Quantum Computing UCITS ETF, closed 2.23% lower on 2.29 times average volume and is down 6.01% over the week, the steepest weekly decline among the ETFs with a weekly base. AIPOWR, the Boreas S&P AI Data Power & Infrastructure UCITS ETF, fell 1.72% on 3.48 times average volume. AGIX, the KraneShares Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF, was the board's worst one-day performer at -2.77%, though on only 30 shares, a print too small to read as conviction.
INDI, the Lunate S&P India Shariah ETF, was the best one-day performer at +1.34% on 3.77 times its average volume, one of only two ETF gainers alongside BONDAE, the Lunate JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF, up 0.83%. At the quiet end, SAUDIA, the Lunate S&P KSA Shariah ETF, was the thinnest name versus its own average at 0.003 times, on 201 shares (AED 681), yet it carries AED 546.5k of net weekly selling pressure, the largest on the ETF board, where 8 names carry positive weekly net pressure and 15 negative.
Equities
What strength there was on the equity board was narrow and speculative. BILDCO, the Abu Dhabi National Co. for Building Materials, closed 4.98% higher on 3.07 times its seven-day average volume, is up 28.18% over the week from its 2026-08-25 base, and carries AED 41.34m of net weekly buying pressure. The move extends the surge covered in Tuesday's wrap, when BILDCO jumped 14.5%. ESHRAQ, the ESHRAQ INVESTMENTS PJSC, added 2.98% and is up 17.56% over the week. ADPORTS, the Abu Dhabi Ports Company PJSC, was the only large-cap gainer, up 0.16% on 1.77 times average volume.
The heavyweights sat on the other side. ADNOCGAS, the ADNOC GAS PLC, fell 1.23% and carries AED 108.23m of net weekly selling pressure. ALPHADHABI, the ALPHA DHABI HOLDING PJSC, was the weakest large name, down 2.80% on 1.23 times average volume. ADIB, the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, fell 1.13%, FAB, the First Abu Dhabi Bank, 0.93%, and EAND, the Emirates Telecom. Group Company (Etisalat Group) PJSC, 1.21%. IHC, the International Holding Company PJSC, was the largest name by value at AED 131.84m yet closed unchanged on the day, even as its weekly order flow skews heavily to the bid. The pattern of broad UAE large-cap weakness echoes recent reporting on UAE stocks falling amid Iran tensions and MSCI rebalancing.
Breadth on the equity board matched the tone: 40 names carry positive weekly net pressure and 49 negative, and ASM's -4.07% marked the day's worst one-day equity move.
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by our Editorial staff before publication. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Please review the relevant securities website and factsheets before making any investment decision. See our full disclosures.
