Abu Dhabi Shares Decline the Most Since December

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Abu Dhabi shares dropped the most this year on lower than average volume as investors held back purchases awaiting the release of first-quarter earnings later this month.

Emirates Telecommunications Corp., the United Arab Emirates’ biggest phone company also known as Etisalat, declined the most in more than three months as the shares traded without the right to a dividend. National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, the U.A.E.’s second-largest bank by assets, dropped the most in almost four months. Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index, which gained 6.8 percent last month, slid 1.7 percent, the most since Dec. 23, to 2,859.57.

“Etisalat is dragging Abu Dhabi down, but otherwise we’re seeing a little bit of profit-taking and an absence of institutional buyers,” said Tarek Zohny, a Dubai-based trader at EFG-Hermes Holding SAE. “Investors are holding back from trading significant volumes until earnings season begins.”