Abu Dhabi: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) continued to see low volumes of trade that averaged Dh294.8 million on Wednesday, with analysts attributing that to a lack of foreign investors in the market.
The DFM index fell 2.23 per cent to reach 3,434.65 while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index slid 0.43 per cent to close at 4,371.68.
The DFM index started the day at nearly 3,500, and took a dip immediately, with the index falling gradually throughout the rest of the day and reaching a low of 3,430 at 1pm. Dubai’s powerhouse stocks also saw a drop in their share prices, with most of them ending the day in the red.
Emaar topped the market in terms of value traded, though its value only stood at Dh52.8 million, as share prices fell 3.45 per cent.
Arabtec also dropped 4.96 per cent, Damac Properties went down 3.56 per cent, Dubai Islamic Bank declined 2.96 per cent and Dubai Parks slid 2.57 per cent.
However, Dubai Ports World went up 1 per cent.
Sebastien Henin, head of asset management at The National Investor, attributed the weak market performance to regional news coming from Saudi Arabia.
“We’ve heard news in the past hours about the fact that the security situation is deteriorating in Yemen, and there are some rumours that Saudi Arabia has sent troops to the border to Yemen. That’s not a supportive element for the market. So, [there is] an environment where the news flow is very poor, and there are no catalysts for the market to improve,” he said.
In Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul index fell 4.27 per cent on Wednesday to reach 8,933.05.
Discussing the low volumes, Henin said that there was a lack of interest in the UAE markets from investors who are now looking at other markets to profit.
He expects low volumes to continue for the next few months as long as there no trends in the market, adding that markets will likely continue trading sideways in the next quarter or two.
In Abu Dhabi, Arkan Building Materials Co topped the gainers’ list with a 4 per cent rise, followed by Ras Al Khaimah Cement Company with 3.66 per cent, Sharjah Cement and Industrial Development Co with 3.64 per cent and Waha Capital with 3.3 per cent.
Of the 31 companies traded on DFM, 25 went down, four went up and two remained unchanged. Of the 25 companies traded on ADX, 13 declined, nine advanced and three remained flat.
