News
Markets remain bearish over further selling
The bearish mood on the UAE stock markets deepened yesterday as further selling took combined weekly losses to more than 350 points.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange fared worse, falling 1.08 per cent to 4,774 points as it declined for the ninth session in 10.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index ceded further ground, dropping 0.55 per cent to 5,250, it fourth-worst close since January 22 to leave it down 11.5 per cent in 2008.
With further selling, the dire performance of the UAE markets has made fools of analysts who boldly predicted the Dubai bourse would break 5,600 points this week.
Instead, the reverse has happened with real estate stocks taking the brunt of the decline.
Emaar fell for the first time in four sessions, slipping 0.94 per cent to Dh10.45, while Union Properties plunged 4.98 per cent to Dh4.57, a 16-week low.
"Property stocks are dragging down the index, but a few of these have now reached support areas," said Shiv Prakash, a Mac Sharaf Securities technical analyst.
"Arabtec is on its neckline support and if investors enter the Dh16.80 level they should make a decent return. DFM Company also looks set for a rebound, with good buying."
Dubai turnover topped Dh1 billion for the third straight session as Dh1.05bn of shares changed hands, although volumes fell by almost a quarter from the day before to 217 million. The DFM's rookies, Takaful House and Takaful Emarat, claimed a fifth of the DFM's volume as this pair climbed 3.34 and 0.21 per cent respectively.
Air Arabia was the next most active stock, but it fell almost two per cent, while Deyaar slipped to its second-lowest finish since October last year. DFM Company and Emirates NBD both added less than one per cent, but Dubai Islamic Bank slipped below Dh8.
Losers edged gainers 16:11, but in truth no companies of any size advanced. For example, the five largest gainers had a combined market capitalisation of Dh8.3 billion, a size eclipsed by 16 individual stocks on the DFM.
Meanwhile, the ADX took its losses this week to 4.1 per cent, its largest weekly reverse since mid-January. All sectors bar healthcare and industrial fell, with real estate taking the biggest tumble as investors sold Aldar and Sorouh.
This duo were the two most traded stocks, claiming 23m shares between, which is more than a third of the index total. Sorouh dropped 3.56 per cent to Dh8.28, an 18-week low, while Aldar slipped 1.3 per cent to Dh11.50.
"Morgan Stanley's report didn't help sentiment for about 35 property companies across the region," Hiba Azar, senior broker at Shaheen Financial Brokers, said. "People are making a connection between expectations for real-estate prices and the companies' earnings. They think profits will get lower."
The capital's other blue chips face similar struggles, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank losing 3.3 per cent, First Gulf Bank falling 1.17 per cent and National Bank of Abu Dhabi also down. Etisalat was unchanged. Losers dwarfed gainers 29:8 to underline the overall negative sentiment and things could yet get worse next week.
Respite for investors
Beleaguered investors found some respite in an unlikely source as DP World enjoyed its largest ever one-day gain. The ports operators jumped 9.33 per cent to $0.82, its highest close since July 25, as 2.9 million of its shares changed hands yesterday.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange fared worse, falling 1.08 per cent to 4,774 points as it declined for the ninth session in 10.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index ceded further ground, dropping 0.55 per cent to 5,250, it fourth-worst close since January 22 to leave it down 11.5 per cent in 2008.
With further selling, the dire performance of the UAE markets has made fools of analysts who boldly predicted the Dubai bourse would break 5,600 points this week.
Instead, the reverse has happened with real estate stocks taking the brunt of the decline.
Emaar fell for the first time in four sessions, slipping 0.94 per cent to Dh10.45, while Union Properties plunged 4.98 per cent to Dh4.57, a 16-week low.
"Property stocks are dragging down the index, but a few of these have now reached support areas," said Shiv Prakash, a Mac Sharaf Securities technical analyst.
"Arabtec is on its neckline support and if investors enter the Dh16.80 level they should make a decent return. DFM Company also looks set for a rebound, with good buying."
Dubai turnover topped Dh1 billion for the third straight session as Dh1.05bn of shares changed hands, although volumes fell by almost a quarter from the day before to 217 million. The DFM's rookies, Takaful House and Takaful Emarat, claimed a fifth of the DFM's volume as this pair climbed 3.34 and 0.21 per cent respectively.
Air Arabia was the next most active stock, but it fell almost two per cent, while Deyaar slipped to its second-lowest finish since October last year. DFM Company and Emirates NBD both added less than one per cent, but Dubai Islamic Bank slipped below Dh8.
Losers edged gainers 16:11, but in truth no companies of any size advanced. For example, the five largest gainers had a combined market capitalisation of Dh8.3 billion, a size eclipsed by 16 individual stocks on the DFM.
Meanwhile, the ADX took its losses this week to 4.1 per cent, its largest weekly reverse since mid-January. All sectors bar healthcare and industrial fell, with real estate taking the biggest tumble as investors sold Aldar and Sorouh.
This duo were the two most traded stocks, claiming 23m shares between, which is more than a third of the index total. Sorouh dropped 3.56 per cent to Dh8.28, an 18-week low, while Aldar slipped 1.3 per cent to Dh11.50.
"Morgan Stanley's report didn't help sentiment for about 35 property companies across the region," Hiba Azar, senior broker at Shaheen Financial Brokers, said. "People are making a connection between expectations for real-estate prices and the companies' earnings. They think profits will get lower."
The capital's other blue chips face similar struggles, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank losing 3.3 per cent, First Gulf Bank falling 1.17 per cent and National Bank of Abu Dhabi also down. Etisalat was unchanged. Losers dwarfed gainers 29:8 to underline the overall negative sentiment and things could yet get worse next week.
Respite for investors
Beleaguered investors found some respite in an unlikely source as DP World enjoyed its largest ever one-day gain. The ports operators jumped 9.33 per cent to $0.82, its highest close since July 25, as 2.9 million of its shares changed hands yesterday.