Oil doubts keep UAE stock markets quiet

Everyone is waiting to see what will happen with oil prices, whether they’re going to go down further, or whether they have stabilised, one analyst said.

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Dubai’s stock market closed fractionally down yesterday, following the bourse’s quietest trading day for more than four weeks.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index closed down 0.02 per cent at 4,170.19, its fourth straight day of losses as investors fret about the effect of falling oil prices on the UAE economy.

“Everyone’s waiting to see what will happen with oil prices, whether they’re going to go down further, or whether they’ve stabilised,” said Khaldoon Jaradat of Brokerage House Securities.

“Today was a bit more normal, after the sell-offs that we’ve seen in the past weeks, but people are still nervous and are reluctant to start buying again.”

The DFM has lost nearly 10 per cent of its value in the past two weeks, with the price of oil hitting four-year lows.

Arabtec Holding ended the day unchanged at Dh3.75, despite news that its largest shareholder, Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments, had increased its stake in the company for the second time in a month.

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange ended the day up 0.32 per cent at 4,717.07, buoyed by gains from index heavyweights FGB, up 0.84 per cent at Dh18 and Aldar Properties, up 1.66 per cent at Dh3.06.

jeverington@thenational.ae

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