Dubai: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) Index, and the ADX Securities Index both experienced rollercoaster changes on Thursday, as DFM went down 0.91 per cent to end at 5,088.48, while the ADX dropped 0.78 per cent to end at 5,171.20.

DFM began the day’s play with a strong drive off the tee carrying it to above 5200 points, but soon found itself in the rough.

A slice around 10.45am saw it drop below 5,000 — to 4,942.34, to be precise — before a series of recovery shots brought it back onto the fairway.

Traders dug out their wedges and putters as the noon bell tolled, and began a series of safe, unspectacular chips that resulted in a subdued afternoon, with the index creeping upwards from a little below 5,050 to a little above it.

The Abu Dhabi Exchange had a similar experience, with a dip before 11am followed by a recovery and a quiet afternoon.

Arabtec remained the main powerhouse for DFM, with shares worth Dh1.2 billion traded; around a third of the total value of the day’s trading on DFM. Its price dip around 10.45am, when it dropped from a record high of Dh9.50 to Dh8.02, caused the similar dip on the DFM index. It recovered quickly, and its shares closed 0.34 per cent up at Dh8.74.

Though Arabec topped the value of trades, it lay in third place on the number of shares traded, with Al Salam Bank — Bahrain topping the volume with 189 million shares changing hands, and prices rising 2.86 per cent to Dh2.16.

Deyaar Development was the second most active in terms of volume, with 147 million shares traded. It closed 1.18 per cent down at Dh1.68.

Air Arabia witnessed a 2.13 per cent drop in value, and ended the day with a share price of Dh1.38, down from Dh1.41. The share had dropped to its lowest price of the day at around 11am when it reached Dh1.31, but rose back shortly after.

Emaar, however, led as the priciest share with each share worth Dh10.80.

In the capital, Aldar Properties showed the most change in volume with a 6.11 per cent drop, while Eshraq Properties also declined 5.32 per cent, and Dana Gas went down 4.44 per cent.

Mohammad Al Hammadi, economic researcher and independent investor, said the drop in both markets was due to a correction to balance out the recent growth.

“Some stocks have been going up very steeply in a short period of time, and that’s quite risky. This is usually followed by a drop in the market. Over the past few days, real estate stocks were leading the way especially with Cityscape held in Abu Dhabi, but now that it’s almost over, the market is dropping again,” Al Hammadi said.

He expected further drops in the market next week especially that the month is almost over.

“Now that April is almost over, brokers will push investors to sell shares that they can’t afford to pay for, so that will lead to a decline in the market. I expect a steep decline of maybe 1.5 to two per cent in the first few hours of the day both in Abu Dhabi and Dubai,” Al Hammadi said.

Of the 29 stocks traded on DFM, 23 dropped, five went up, and one remained unchanged. Of the 38 stocks traded on ADX, 22 declined, 10 remained flat, and six advanced.