Dubai shares fall more than 1%

Dubai: Dubai shares fell by more than one per cent, reversing the gains made on Sunday when Ajman Bank made its market debut.

Led by Emaar Properties, the largest publicly traded Arab real estate development company, and Dubai Islamic Bank, UAE's largest Sharia-compliant bank, the Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 1.38 per cent to close at 5,521.93. It was the biggest drop since last Wednesday. On Tuesday last, the index had fallen 1.78 per cent.

Emaar declined 1.79 per cent to close at Dh11.

Although statements to the contrary that DIB stock price will not be affected by the ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities by its former high ranking officials, investor sentiments seem to suggest otherwise with the stock slipping back into the negative territory. It closed 2.71 per cent down to Dh8.25.

Led by sell-off from retail investors in the hope of a quick return, Ajman Bank fell 14.90 per cent to Dh3.37. Not surprisingly, it was still the highest traded stock with a turnover value of Dh441.94 million.

Volumes

With volumes continuing to be low, the Abu Dhabi index fell slightly, 0.04 per cent, to close at 5,037.28. The total volume traded was 181.07 million shares that was worth Dh995.78 million.

Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate fell 0.15 per cent and 0.63 per cent to close at Dh13.15 and Dh9.53 respectively.

Abu Dhabi National Energy and Dana Gas remained unchanged at Dh2.01 and Dh3.10.

Methaq Takaful Insurance continued to edge upwards, gaining 3.99 per cent to Dh6.25.