UAE bourses go into retreat

The Dubai Financial Market closed down 0.6 per cent at 3,906.60 points. Pawan Singh / The National

The UAE’s two main stock markets ended slightly down for the second day in a row yesterday, erasing gains from earlier in the week.

The Dubai Financial Market inched up in early trading but quickly slipped back into the red, eventually closing down 0.6 per cent at 3,906.60 points.

Arabtec Holding was the worst-performing blue-chip stock of the day, shedding 1.85 per cent at Dh3.19. Emaar Properties ended down 1.5 per cent at Dh7.21, while Emaar Malls closed 1.3 per cent lower at Dh2.96.

On Tuesday, Emaar Malls said that visitors to The Dubai Mall increased 6.6 per cent to 80 million last year from 75 million in 2013.

Dubai Islamic Bank and the Sharjah-based Air Arabia were among a handful of gainers, closing up 0.43 per cent and 0.59 per cent respectively.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was largely unchanged on a quiet day of trading, shedding 0.06 per cent to 4,625.32.

Eshraq Properties and Aldar Properties accounted for more than half of the total volume of shares traded. Eshraq shares closed down 2.3 per cent at 83 fils, while shares in Aldar were unchanged at Dh2.58.

Dana Gas was one of the main risers of the day, closing up 2 per cent at 49 fils.

Elsewhere in the Gulf region, Oman’s Bank Nizwa announced it was considering a merger with United Finance. The bank’s shares rose by 9.9 per cent to 0.89 Omani rials, their highest one-day rise since 2012.

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