Dubai's markets were almost alone in the Gulf in finding shelter from poor economic news blown from the US, while other Gulf markets including Qatar, Kuwait and Oman fell sharply.
Local markets were scattered in all directions as gains for Emaar Properties, Sorouh and Emirates NBD were balanced by losses at Air Arabia, Dana Gas and Deyaar Developments. For every stock making gains, another fell.
Both markets were almost flat at the end of the day's trading, after rises which nudged the Emirates' indexes into positive territory before being snuffed out. The Dubai Financial Market General Index ended flat at 1,566.71, while Abu Dhabi stocks fell 0.24 per cent to 2,666.16, breaking a week-long string of gains.
Traders started the day in a downbeat mood as US jobs data revealed on Friday that the world's largest economy added just 54,000 jobs last month, raising fears that growth has stalled. Economists polled by Bloomberg had expected an increase of 165,000.
The dismal jobs growth caused a sharp sell-off in Saudi Arabian stocks at the weekend, falling 1.73 per cent to 6,624.95 at the close on Saturday, before falling again today.
"The story is that there's no story," said Fadi al Said, a fund manager at ING Investment Management. "After the Saudi market tanked yesterday, the expectations were leading towards a bad day today."
Positive economic news, alongside perennial hopes of an upgrade to emerging market status from MSCI, the index provider, were still providing traders with reasonable cause for optimism, he added.
Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai saw a glimpse of movement, falling 0.57 per cent to 1,714.74, dragged downwards by its largest stock, DP World, which declined 0.76 per cent to $13.10. The ports operator's Dubai-listed shares have lost 47 cents since its listing on the London Stock Exchange on June 1.
Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
