Regional markets mostly ended lower on Sunday on ongoing European debt concerns.
In the UAE, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was down 0.2 per cent to 2594.01 points, while the Dubai Financial Market General Index was down 0.4 per cent to 1473.46 points.
Despite the drops, brokers say the markets were able to hold steady when compared to drops in Europe last week after German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party suffered its fifth election loss this year as she faced criticism over the debt crisis. Europe' central bank on Sept 8 said threats to the euro region worsened. The Stoxx 600 Europe Index lost 3.7 per cent last week.
"There is less volatility in our markets because the sovereign profile in our region is much better," said Anastasios Dalgiannakis, Head of Trading at Dubai-based Mubasher Financial Services. "We are better than european economies," he said.
Oman's benchmark lost 0.4 per cent to 5712.57 points. Lebanon's index was down 0.8 per cent to 1271.30 points.
Bahrain's index slipped by 0.04 per cent to 1270.87 points. Jordan's index was down 0.3 per cent to 2044.14. Egypt's index was down 1 per cent to 4703.80 points.
Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait's index rose 0.3 per cent to 5980.20 points. Qatar's index added 0.1 per cent to 8376.64 points. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index was up 0.1 per cent to 6146.98 points.
halsayegh@thenational.ae
