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Equities turn bearish ahead of Eid holidays; Deyaar slips to record low

DUBAI — UAE bourses on Monday turned bearish amid speculation that recent gains are overdone given growth prospects in the emirate and before the Eid holidays next week.

The Dubai Financial Market dragged the benchmark index lower while the trading volumes stood firm above 50 million mark as the investors saw little reason to buy shares in the absence of market-moving news.

The Dubai Financial Market’s General Index fell for a fourth session in five days and closed 0.4 per cent down at 1,490.52 points, taking its year-to-date losses to 17.4 per cent. The index has advanced 1.1 per cent the past two weeks.

Out of 23 stocks traded yesterday, only three posted gains while six remain unchanged and 14 declined as investors exchanged 55.39 million shares worth Dh71.88 million on the exchange.

DFM and Ajman Bank each fall two per cent, while Deyaar dropped 2.33 per cent to a record low of 0.29 fils. Earlier this month, Deyaar reported its third consecutive quarterly loss. Emaar Properties fell 0.61 per cent to Dh3.28.

“Volumes are pathetic and the only positive is that front runner Emaar is pretty stable, which shows investors don’t fear a market crash,” said Vyas Jayabhanu, head of investments, Al Dhafra Financial Broker.

“Some investors are buying, but it seems the general public is dormant — they are not willing to sell, but also don’t have the confidence to add to their positions either.”

ADX turns bearish

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange’s General Index turned lower for a first session in three days, dropping 0.37 per cent to 2,499.36 points as volumes decline by nearly half from the day before. Out of 23 stocks traded yesterday, only five posted gains while three remain unchanged and 15 declined as investors exchanged 9.59 million shares worth Dh57.76 million on the exchange.

“Low volumes are a continued testament to the lack of interest in local markets,” said Hassan El Salah, deputy head of institutional equities at Al Ramz Securities LLC, an Abu Dhabi-based brokerage. “We should see a pick up post-Ramadan.”

Aldar Properties and Dana Gas lost 2.58 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively. Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding closed 6.19 per cent down at Dh3.18.

On the positive side, Waha Capital advanced 1.52 per cent to 0.67 fils while Arkan Building Material Co and First Gulf Bank gained 0.85 per cent and 0.36 per cent, respectively.

In terms of value and volume, First Gulf Bank0 remained on top as its 3.08 million shares worth Dh42.66 million traded on the exchange yesterday.

Regional markets

The Saudi index fell 0.2 per cent to 6,072 points while turnover fell to a seven-year low. Qatar’s benchmark index hit a new three-month high by gaining 0.3 per cent to close at 7,219 points.

Orascom Construction Industries hit a three-week intraday high after its second-quarter profit rose, helping the index to rose 0.06 per cent to
 6,469 points.

The Kuwait’s main index edged up 0.01 per cent to 6,667 points while the Oman’s index eased 0.1 per cent to 6,264 points. Bahrain’s measure fell 0.6 percent to 1,423 points.

· muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com