Dubai: Dubai shares ended a tad lower on Tuesday as investors continued to book profits before Emaar Properties open the subscription for shares in its malls unit next week. The Abu Dhabi index also fell.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 0.15 per cent to settle at 5,083.09, reversing previous session’s 1.11 per cent gains. The UAE’s biggest listed builder Arabtec, which rose 2.94 per cent, was the most active stock by value in trade, while Emaar, which shed 1.75 per cent, was the second-most active stock by value.
“We saw some profit-taking and liquidation of positions for the IPO. Going ahead we expect consolidation while investors get ready for the IPO,” said Marwan Shurrab, fund manager and head of trading at Vision Investments.
The developer of the world’s tallest tower will start selling at least 15 per cent of shares in Emaar Malls Group starting Sept. 14, and list them in Dubai on Oct. 2. The share sale is touted to be one of the biggest after the credit crises of 2008, when many companies were forced to restructure debts and stall projects.
At least 70 per cent of the Emaar Malls offering will be allocated to qualified institutional investors and 30 per cent to individuals. A minimum 10 per cent will be earmarked for Emaar shareholders as of Sept. 10, while the Emirates Investment Authority reserved 5 per cent of the offering allocated to institutions.
On the index, out of a total of 29 shares traded on the exchange, shares of 14 companies declined, shares of 9 rose, while shares of the rest 6 companies remained unchanged.
Among the top losers, was Ajman Bank, which shed more than 2 per cent, and Al Salam Sudan shed 2.92 per cent among others.
In Abu Dhabi, the general index ended 0.35 per cent lower at 5,168.05. Out of a total of 34 companies, shares of 9 companies rose, while 9 of them declined and the other 16 remained steady.
Telecommunication firm Ooredoo fell the maximum of 10 per cent in trade, while Gulf Livestock Company fell more than 9 per cent.
Next month
“The market is still strong at 5,000 levels and further upside could be seen with liquidity coming back to the market and that should benefit the index by next month,” said Shurrab, who expects the index to reach 5,500 levels by year-end.
Shurrab expects the size of the IPO’s in the pipeline to be relatively small compared to Emaar Properties’ unit share sale, helping liquidity to return to the market.
The index has already gained 54.26 per cent on a year to date basis, making it the best performer in the region. The stellar gains prompted some investors to book profits ahead of the mega IPO.
