Business | Markets
Profit-booking drags Dubai index down
Profit-booking throughout the week dragged the Dubai Financial Market's (DFM) general index down 144.42 points or 2.48 per cent to 5,685.46, wiping out Dh10.3 billion in market capitalisation.
- By Ahmed A. Elewa, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:39 May 16, 2008
Abu Dhabi: Profit-booking throughout the week dragged the Dubai Financial Market's (DFM) general index down 144.42 points or 2.48 per cent to 5,685.46, wiping out Dh10.3 billion in market capitalisation.
The losses were mostly attributed to the substantial decline of DFM's shares, the banking sector, and telecommunications.
DFM retreated 5.9 per cent to Dh5.72 to lose more than Dh2.9 billion of its market value.
The biggest losers were Emirates NBD bank and Dubai Islamic Bank, which fell 2.8 and 1.7 per cent to Dh12.05 and Dh9.04 respectively. du plunged 2.8 per cent to Dh5.95.
The most traded stock in terms of volume was Emaar Properties, which retreated 2.5 per cent to Dh12.05. Speculative trading continued in companies like Gulf Navigation, Air Arabia, and Deyaar Development, all of which ended the week in the red.
In Abu Dhabi, the general index managed to pare its weekly losses and end down 0.36 per cent to 5,016.84.
etisalat's decline by 1.4 per cent to Dh21.35 was offset by the gains recorded in the real estate sector. Sorouh Real Estate advanced by 1.5 per cent to Dh9.67.
Overall, the weekly value of traded shares retreated 30.7 per cent to Dh9.7 billion, while the total market capitalisation dropped Dh11.8 billion mostly in Dubai.
The Emirates Securities general index fell 1.36 per cent to 6,189.23.
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