Drop in UK pound on Brexit fears also weighs on UAE bourses

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index ended in the black as other benchmarks ended lower. Faisal Al Nasser / Reuters

Shares in the UAE drifted lower on June 13, as Brexit fears and pre-Federal Reserve meeting nerves weighed on global equities.

Polls showing increasing support for Britain’s exit from the EU sent the pound tumbling to a two-month low and provoking a further sell-off on European bourses.

The UK’s FTSE 100 was trading 0.76 per cent lower late afternoon, with the Euro Stoxx 50 Index down 1.41 per cent. Asian stocks closed sharply lower, ahead of the monthly two-day Fed meeting that kicks off on June 14.

Share performance across the Arabian Gulf was mixed, with Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index and the Bahrain Bourse All Share Index ending in the black as other benchmarks ended lower.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index ended the day down by 0.3 per cent at 3,323.43, dragged lower by Emaar Properties.

The developer’s shares, the heaviest weighted on the index, fell by 0.9 per cent to Dh6.28, their lowest level in a week, erasing minor gains by fellow property players Damac Properties, Union Properties and Deyaar Development.

Arabtec shares ended the day unchanged at Dh1.40, after the company announced the resignation of board member Mohamed Al Fahim.

Shares in the capital ended a quiet day of trading almost unchanged at 4,365.09.

Gains by First Gulf Bank and Aldar Properties were cancelled out by declines by NBAD and ADCB, on a day when just seven stocks saw trading volumes above the million mark.

National Marine Dredging shares, among the least liquid on the Abu Dhabi bourse, finished unchanged and untraded at Dh5.50 a piece, after the resignation of its chief financial officer, Gautam Pradhan.