Shares on Dubai's market fell yesterday as investors remained on the sidelines awaiting the reopening of markets in the United States after a two-day closure because of Hurricane Sandy.
"The whole market is weak," said Marwan Shurrab, the vice president and chief trader at Gulfmena Investments in Dubai. "People are waiting for the reaction on the first day of trading in the US. It will be the indicator for the performance of our markets going forward."
Tabreed's shares fell 2.3 per cent to Dh1.24 each even after the district cooling company said third-quarter net income rose to Dh64.24 million, from Dh55.52m a year ago.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index slipped 0.1 per cent to 1,619.61 points, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was little changed, up 0.03 per cent to 2,672.43.
The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and other trading platforms were set to reopen yesterday, after trading of equities and bonds was halted for two straight days.
US futures pointed towards a higher opening by the time the UAE bourses completed their trading session.
"Investors are braced for an exceptionally busy open, as three days of trading are combined into one," Richard Hunter, the head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown in London, told Bloomberg News. "There is the additional feature of some likely window-dressing business, given today being the last trading day of the month and the end of the year for many mutual funds," he added.
Elsewhere in the region, Qatar's QE Index added 0.2 per cent to 8,546.49, Kuwait's benchmark slipped 0.05 per cent to 5,766.96 and Bahrain's All Share Index dipped 0.21 per cent to 1,057.91.
The Saudi and Omani markets were closed in observance of Eid Al Adha.
