Dubai stocks today took cues from Saudi Arabia, which opened 200 points lower at the start of trading amid a continuing global market rout.
“The market went down after the kingdom’s market opened down,” said Nabil Farhat, a partner at Fajer Securities in Abu Dhabi. “Shares kept spiralling downwards in Saudi and caused the sell-off in the UAE.”
Overnight in the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3 per cent to 16,321.07 points, continuing its decline from Friday, as investors could not shake off mounting global growth worries. The S&P 500 Index lost 1.6 per cent to 1,874.74.
Arabtec, the emirate’s biggest contracting company, fell 4.5 per cent to Dh3.97 a share. Emaar Properties, the developer of Burj Khalifa, declined 3.7 per cent to Dh10.35 a share.
Union Properties, another Dubai-based developer, dropped 5.1 per cent to Dh1.85 a share.
Emaar Malls, the retail unit of Emaar Properties, slipped 1.2 per cent to Dh3.15.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed 2.9 per cent lower at 4,571.90, with the traded volume at Dh910.9 million. Twenty-eight stocks declined, one rose and one remained unchanged.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index fell 1.2 per cent to 4,883.58 as Dh251.9 million worth of shares were traded.
halsayegh@thenational.ae
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