Subdued investors' sentiments and weak global cues, mainly, European debt concerns, Korean tensions and fall in the global equities markets weighed upon trading at Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on Sunday, the first trading day of the week.
The benchmark index closed at 1,659.50, down 22.73 points or 1.35 per cent amid thin volumes and turnover, taking DFM down almost 8 per cent year-to-date (YTD). Out of 26 stocks traded, only three managed to advance.
Major losers included Mashreq Bank, Takaful House, Takaful Emarat, Al Salam Bank - Bahrain, among others. Bellwether stocks like Emaar, DP World, Arabtec, Aramex, among others, also posted losses.
Depressed investors' sentiments seem to have got support from the bearish performance of the Asia-Pacific and European markets when they closed on Friday. All major Asia Pacific, except Straits Times, as well as European indices, baring Stockholm General, had slipped on Friday, as investors remained jittery over the shape of global recovery.
US markets also closed lower last week impacting investment sentiments. Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) also closed lower, as the index lost 7.22 points to close at 2,749.67.
Other regional stock markets such as Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait markets also ended lower on Sunday.