Etisalat slides after Thursday's 10-mth high

Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) extends losses as investors cash in from last week's 10-month closing high, falling 3.7 per cent. "Maybe there was anticipation that Etisalat would be part of a Zain deal, but trading volumes are not significant," says Chamel Sahmy, Beltone Financial regional senior sales trader. Abu Dhabi's index falls 1 per cent to 3,029 points. It hit a 10-month closing high on Thursday, breaking above 3,000 points for the first time since mid-November last year.

Etisalat surged 14.3 per cent from July 21, when it said it would be interested in buying a controlling stake in Zain, to Thursday's close. On Wednesday, an official with the Kharafi group, a major Zain stakeholder, said a consortium of Indian telecoms firms and a Malaysian investor would buy a 46 percent stake in Zain.