DFM lower as investors book profits before earnings announcements

Dubai shares closed sharply lower on Sunday, as investors continued to book gains from the past two weeks ahead of the release of fourth-quarter earnings.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index finished 1.1 per cent lower at 3,678.45, the index's worst one-day performance in just over a month, as investors cashed in more of their profits from earlier in the month.

Emaar Properties and du led the big-name sell-offs, finishing off 1.7 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.

Shares in Emirates NBD closed 1 per cent lower at Dh8.70, ahead of the anticipated release of the bank’s fourth-quarter earnings on Monday.

DIB was the pick of just four gainers, closing up 0.3 per cent at Dh5.88.

Shares in Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, finished 0.1 per cent lower at 4,674.77, as shares in index heavyweight FGB ended down 0.7 per cent.

Al Waha Capital and United Arab Bank were the pick of the capital’s gainers on Sunday, closing up 6.4 per cent and 9.8 per cent, respectively.

In Saudi Arabia, stocks opened higher but slipped back throughout the day before rallying late. They finished up 0.1 per cent, ahead of a series of fourth-quarter earnings announcements scheduled for the week ahead, including NCB, Banque Saudi Fransi and Sabic.

Shares in Almarai closed up 0.3 per cent even though the food giant’s fourth-quarter profit fell short of expectations.

In Doha, the Qatar Exchange finished the day up by 0.3 per cent. Shares in QNB closed 0.1 per cent lower, ahead of the bank reporting a 10 per cent increase in profits for 2016, in line with analyst estimates.

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