Abu Dhabi: The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index continued to slide slowly on Sunday as Arabtec fell 9.92 per cent, approaching the daily cap following its announcement of a plunge in net profits.

The DFM index dropped 1.37 per cent to reach 3,425.69, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index fell 0.33 per cent to reach 4,323.21.

The dip in the Dubai market was backed by powerhouse, Arabtec, which announced on Sunday morning that its net profits in 2014 stood at Dh241.6 million, marking a major drop from the 2013 figures of Dh468.26 million.

The announcement sent share prices crashing to Dh2.36 as investors sold their shares at a collective worth of Dh122.6 million — accounting for 37 per cent of the total market traded value.

Meanwhile, most of the other powerhouses also saw a fall in their share prices, albeit at a lower rate, with Damac Properties declining 4.91 per cent, Gulf Finance House sliding 5.19 per cent, and Dubai Investments Co dropping 0.88 per cent.

However, Emaar gained 0.46 per cent and Dubai Islamic Bank went up 1.96 per cent.

Analyst Osama Al Ashry said he expected Arabtec’s share prices to continue dropping to Dh2, and that prices have a support level at Dh1.86, after which they can bounce back up.

Discussing the overall market performance, he said, “I think these days both DFM and ADX are at risk because of the low trade volumes, which are a major red flag because they signal that there are no buyers in the market. The DFM index has a support level at 3,184, which, if reached, can see the index at new lows of 2,700 and 2,500. As long as the index is not there yet, I’m relatively optimistic.”

Al Ashry, a member of UK organisation, the Society of Technical Analysts, said that the Abu Dhabi market was also at risk, with the ADX general index support level at 4,060.

In Abu Dhabi, Al Khazna Insurance Co topped the gainers’ list with a 7.14 per cent rise, followed by Arkan Building Materials Co. with 4.13 per cent, Bank of Sharjah with 4.05 per cent and Ras Al Khaimah Cement Company with 3.9 per cent.

Of the 34 companies traded on DFM, 25 went down, seven went up, and two remained unchanged. Of the 28 companies traded on ADX, 13 declined, 11 advanced, and four remained flat.