Dubai: The Dubai Financial Market General Index closed 0.98 per cent lower on Tuesday as Emaar Properties and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) shed more than 1 per cent and even the stellar performance of Gulf Finance House (GFH), which jumped nearly 15 per cent, couldn’t reverse the swing.

Emaar Properties ended the session 1.07 per cent lower at Dh7.43 while DIB was 1.49 per cent lower at Dh5.95 — losses that weigh the index down to 3,642.85 at close of trade.

GFH, however, bucked the market trend as it continued on its record-breaking path to close 14.77 per cent higher at Dh2.72.

“The market is fully dominated by retail clients, and GFH has been the main driver. GFH has been the new Arabtec,” said Ahmad Abdul Waheed, vice-president of the Institutional Desk at Menacorp.

Amanat closed 0.88 per cent higher at Dh1.15, while Arabtec retreated 1.46 per cent to Dh1.35.

The overall trend on the market saw more bears, with 23 of the 39 stocks traded on the exchange falling and only 13 shares registering gains. The rest remained steady.

In the UAE capital, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index closed 0.92 per cent lower at 4,548.82.

Asmak International Fish Farming shed 9.89 per cent to close at Dh2.37 while Union National Bank shed 3.51 per cent to close at Dh4.40. RAK Bank closed 2.61 per cent lower at Dh4.85 and etisalat shed 1.92 per cent to close at Dh17.90.

The trend, as with the DFM, was bearish, with 16 of the 27 stocks traded falling and only three shares rising. The rest remained steady.

Eye on earnings

Abdul Waheed said the upcoming set of results would impact stocks individually.

“We have the banks reporting the results, and the activity would be dependent on those results,” he said. “The main results that everyone will be waiting for will be Emaar Properties. Everyone is expecting good results. The market will see higher [trades in line with] international sentiment with Dow breaking the 20,000 level.”

The Dubai index has gained 3.71 per cent so far in the year, after gaining more than 20 per cent in 2016.

Elsewhere in the Gulf region on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index shed 0.43 per cent to close at 7,101.86.

The Kuwait Stock Exchange index was 0.10 per cent lower at 6,832.22 despite the country’s plans to overhaul its economy by 2035.

The Qatar Exchange index closed 1.4 per cent lower at 10,597.22.