Abu Dhabi : The UAE and regional stock markets are widely expected to trade this week in line with bearish sentiments currently prevailing on global bourses, market analysts told Gulf News yesterday.
"Regional markets will be under pressure this week as they will follow the trend on global financial markets," Rami Sidani, Head of Middle East and North Africa (Mena) Portfolio Management at Schroders, said.
"The impact [of decline in global financial markets] is obviously going to be there this week. The US market had one of its worst days last Thursday.
"The Saudi market today was down 3.9 per cent. That gives us an indication that things are not going too well in the region," Chahir Hosni, Sales Manager at EFG-Hermes, said.
May be down
He added that Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock markets may be down at least during the start of this week.
"The investors are concerned. They may want to decrease their exposure in the regional markets," Hosni said.
The extreme market volatility of recent days has shaken investors, who are still seeking a clear explanation of what sent US stocks into Thursday's dizzying intraday spiral.
Stocks turned negative for the year on Friday on fears of another credit crisis stemming from Greece's souring finances and lingering questions about what triggered the previous session's dramatic plunge.
The major stock indexes finished Friday's volatile session one per cent to two per cent lower.
The weekly declines for the Dow and the S&P 500 were the steepest since March 2009 when the market hit a 12-year low.
The Nasdaq had its largest weekly drop since November 2008.
