Rising property stocks in Abu Dhabi could not help lift its bourse into positive territory on a day which saw UAE markets contract before the close of trading.
In Abu Dhabi Aldar Properties rose 1.4 per cent to Dh2.21 and Sorouh Real Estate gained 1.2 per cent to Dh1.63 on the day the company's chief operating officer said the developer had started an aggressive "default avoidance" programme after seeing up to eight per cent of buyers on its Reem Islands project pull out of contracts. RAK Properties, which rose 2.2 per cent during intraday trading, closed flat at Dh0.45. However the Abu Dhabi Securities General Index closed marginally down at 0.05 per cent to 2,729.87 points.
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index dropped 0.3 per cent to 1,668.82 points as Emaar Properties slipped 0.8 per cent to Dh3.62, after rising 1.4 per cent earlier in the week as its chairman said the property sector will pick up.
Elsewhere in real estate, Arabtec fell 0.5 per cent to Dh1.82.
"Ever since the fall [of the market in 2009], everyone understands how oversupplied the market is," said Hassan al Salah, head of institutional sales at AlRamz.
But he said some positive momentum came from traders going for "conviction buys", or stocks that are expected to outperform the market in the future, and used Air Arabia as an example.
The stock has a yield of 12 per cent on its dividend though it closed down 0.3 per cent to Dh0.78.
"Some names are still getting picked up but not going into force because the market can't handle the volume right now," he said.
Negative sentiment prevailed elsewhere in the region: Qatar slipped 0.2 per cent to 8,142.12; Oman fell 0.2 per cent to 6,592.00; Bahrain lost 0.06 per cent to 1,437.94; Kuwait decreased 0.3 per cent to 6891.00 and the Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index moved 0.3 per cent lower to 6,310.00.
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Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
FORSPOKEN
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Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
