Shares in Emirates NBD fell for the third trading day since Standard & Poor’s cut its ratings for two of the bank's units.

The lender dropped 2.7 per cent, taking its losses to 8.6 per cent over this period.

Arabtec declined 4 per cent and Shuaa Capital plunged 6 per cent. On Wednesday, Shuaa announced it was seeking damages over its investment in Orion Holdings Overseas Ltd.

Dubai's index slid 0.6 per cent to 1,671 points.

"Trading is lacklustre – everyone is waiting for more corporate earnings to come out and a level of pessimism has returned," says Haissam Arabi, chief executive and fund manager at Gulfmena Alternative Investments.

"Nothing will change until earnings are released – we're in a lull of what will be a very long summer, with volumes not expected to pick up significantly."

 

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