UAE markets were quiet yesterday as trading volumes dipped in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and Brent crude hovered around US$60 a barrel.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 0.4 per cent to 3,840.07.
Sanyalaksna Manibhandu, the chief equities analyst at National Bank of Abu Dhabi, said markets remained neutral because of oil prices.
He noted a shift in the markets as investors look more to dividend yields.
Earnings reports released last week from du and Sharjah-based Air Arabia failed to provide any "upside in prices", he said.
In Dubai, Arabtec rose 7 fils to Dh3.15 a share in early trading as the company won US$253 million worth of oil and gas contracts in Saudi Arabia. The stock sagged through the day, though, and had dropped to Dh3.07 at the close as investors awaited earnings results expected next month.
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index lost 0.4 per cent to end the day at 4,647.25.
“There’s no trend right now in the market,” said Sebastien Henin, senior vice president at The National Investor. “Unfortunately this might continue in the coming weeks.”
lgraves@thenational.ae
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