Europe takes centre stage for markets

UAE stocks declined, while regional equities ended largely unchanged, ahead of today's emergency meeting between French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Dubai stocks were down 0.5 per cent yesterday. Kamran Jebreili / AP Photo
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UAE stocks declined, while regional equities ended largely unchanged, before today's emergency meeting between the French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the German chancellor Angela Merkel.

The pair will aim for joint proposals by next month on how to better manage the euro and avoid future instability.

Emaar Properties was down 0.3 per cent to Dh2.81 a share. Air Arabia, the region's largest budget airline, lost 0.4 per cent to 63 fils. Du lost 1.3 per cent to Dh3.02 a share.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index was down 0.5 per cent to 1,470.39 points.

"Markets are taking a breather to see what happens in global markets, specifically in Europe," said Saleem Khokhar, the head of equities at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi. "Volatility will continue for the time being."

The European Central Bank was forced to start buying Italian and Spanish bonds on August 8 after politicians failed to convince investors they could contain the region's sovereign debt crisis.

In the capital, Aldar Properties lost 0.8 per cent to Dh1.19 a share. Sorouh Real Estate, Abu Dhabi's second-biggest developer, lost 0.8 per cent to Dh1.17 a share.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was little changed at 2,600.02 points.

Elsewhere in the region: Kuwait's measure added 0.1 per cent to 5,830.80; Bahrain's index lost 0.01 per cent to 1,266.98; Oman's index lost 0.01 per cent to 5,478.72; Qatar's benchmark lost 0.02 per cent to 8,114.49. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index was up 0.34 per cent to 6,136.10 points.