Markets fell sharply in the UAE yesterday amid a broad sell-off of company stocks.
Financial Fallout: More on the global economic chaos
Region feels the effect of US ratings downgrade
Concerns over the global economy pushed stocks down in the UAE and much of the Gulf.
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Finance chiefs hold crisis talks
Global finance officials used emergency meetings to seek to stem the fallout from the debt crises brewing in both the US and Europe.
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UAE likely to stick with dollar peg
Regional pegs to the US dollar may come under the spotlight after the downgrade of the US credit rating by Standard & Poor's.
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US downgrade threat to Gulf borrowing costs
Banks in the Gulf may find themselves in a tough position following the downgrade of the US's credit rating by Standard and Poor's, analysts say.
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Shares in
[ Emaar Properties ]
, the developer of the world's largest tower, had their largest decline since March, dropping 5.3 per cent on the Dubai Financial Market General Index.
[ Arabtec Holding ]
, the biggest construction company in the Emirates, released disappointing results yesterday - second-quarter profit was down 74 per cent to Dh28.9 million, pushing its stock to its biggest drop since March. Shares of Arabtec fell more than 6 per cent, to Dh1.34.
Overall, the Dubai index fell more than 3.6 per cent in its most dramatic drop since February. It closed at 1,484.31. For the most part, declines were because of larger concerns about the recovery of the global economy and a recent downgrading of the US debt rating.
"Today's market reaction was on the back of what's happening globally," said Saleem Khokhar, the head of equities at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi's asset management group.
That concern was evident at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where stocks declined more than 2.5 per cent, ending at 2,603.22. Investors in "Abu Dhabi retreated less" than in Dubai, said Mr Khokhar.
Abu Dhabi National Energy rose 1.57 per cent to Dh1.29.
[ Aldar ]
Properties was the most actively traded company by volume on the capital's index and its value fell 5.47 per cent, to Dh1.21.
Aldar recently reported a net profit for the first half of the year of Dh127m, compared with a net loss of Dh475m during the same period last year. But some analysts remain cautious about Aldar's performance, citing a need for refinancing.
