Arabtec bears brunt of late Dubai stock market sell-off

Investors sell shares in Arabtec ahead of earning season, Dana Gas ahead of board meeting on Wednesday.

Dana Gas fell 2.2 per cent to 43 fils a share yesterday. Courtesy Dana Gas

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) was hit with a late sell-off yesterday as valuations were deemed too high ahead of pending third-quarter results.

Arabtec Holding, the emirate's biggest contractor, tumbled 5.1 per cent to Dh2.60, leading the declines.

"Arabtec was the most affected," said Khaldoun Jaradat, a broker at Brokerage House Securities in Abu Dhabi.

"People are worried if Arabtec will deliver some bad news over the third quarter. The price is already rich where it is trading."

Gulf Navigation, the emirate's only publicly traded oil-tanker owner, lost 2.2 per cent to 26 fils.

The DFM General Index fell 0.8 per cent, closing at 1,592.78. The benchmark has risen 17.6 per cent so far this year.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index slipped 0.1 per cent to 2,611.44.

Dana Gas, a UAE gas explorer and producer, fell 2.2 per cent to 43 fils. A board meeting is taking place on Wednesday, when directors will discuss their progress towards the recruitment of a chief executive. They also plan to "update" its report on the "Khor Mor incident", when an explosion occurred at the company's liquefied petroleum gas plant in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Dana Gas also has about US$1 billion in Islamic bonds due next month.

Elsewhere in the region: Kuwait's measure gained 0.2 per cent to 5,892.43; Bahrain's index added 0.2 per cent to 1,085.56; Oman's MSM 30 Index slipped 0.2 per cent to 5,588.61; Qatar's QE Index lost 0.3 per cent to 8,568.35.

The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index was closed for national day.