National Cement Co, a producer of cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates for construction companies, was among the biggest losers on DFM for a second day. It slumped 3.9 per cent to Dh9.90, followed by Global Investment House, which slipped 3.7 per cent to Dh14.25.

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co, the UAE's second phone company known as du, declined 1.5 per cent to Dh5.95 and DFM Co, the only publicly traded stock exchange in the Middle East, lost 0.9 per cent to Dh5.72.

The country's budget carrier Air Arabia rose 0.5 per cent to Dh1.98 as it announced the resumption of flight to Lebanon from today. The volumes of trading in UAE's two stock markets were down, as investors seemed to be on the sidelines following the Beirut incident coupled with poor prospects for earnings growth.

At least 153 million shares, valued at Dh811.14 million, traded on DFM yesterday compared with the 50-day average of Dh1.23 billion, according to Bloomberg data. Shares value on ADX was Dh602.42 million compared with the 50-day average of Dh927.9 million.