Abu Dhabi: Investors in the GCC mostly remained away from equity markets just as UK citizens head to the ballots to vote on whether Britain should remain in or leave the European Union.

The results of the referendum in the UK should be announced early on Friday, with many experts warning of significant downside and even a Black Friday if the country votes to exit.

Some of the latest polls have shown the Remain side gaining momentum and edging marginally over the Leave camp, sending European stocks and the sterling up.

On Thursday, at 4.20pm UAE time, major European indices were up, with Germany’s DAX gaining 1.77 per cent, France’s CAC up 1.9 per cent, and the FTSE 100 up 1.15 per cent.

The bullish sentiment didn’t travel well, however, with the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index down 0.24 per cent to 3,367.64 and just Dh201.7 million worth of traded shares. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) general index was also almost flat, ending 0.04 per cent higher at 4,499.73.

“A lot of investors now would be sitting on the sidelines ahead of the Brexit vote today, so they’re not willing to put their money anywhere yet. That’s causing part of the lacklustre that we’re seeing in the market. There’s a lot of uncertainty, combined with the Ramadan period when the traditional players are also on the sidelines,” said Saleem Khokhar, head of fund management at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s asset management group.

He added that the jump in the sterling was not impacting investor sentiment much in the UAE, with the impact being concentrated in Europe.

Khokhar pointed that one positive factor in the market today could be the statements from Saudi Arabia’s oil minister during his visit to the US. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Khalid Al Falih said the oversupply of oil “has disappeared”, and signalled that Opec could assert some control over the market.

However, there was barely any reaction in the market, with Saudi’s Tadawul All Share Index rising 0.28 per cent to end at 6,550.97.

Similarly, Qatar’s QE index rose 0.47 per cent to reach 9,966.35, as the Bahrain Bourse index gained 0.57 per cent to 1,118.98, and the Kuwait Stock Exchange index fell 0.02 per cent to 5,407.99.

“The global uncertainty is also being fuelled by the US Federal Reserve statement in terms of interest rates. [Janet] Yellen (chairwoman of the Reserve) said they are going be quite careful in terms of how they approach rates, so there is a number of factors weighing in,” NBAD’s Khokhar said.

He expected the region’s market to see stronger activity in the later part of this year (by the third or fourth quarter), especially as the outlook on oil prices takes shape along with more information coming out of the Fed on rate hikes.

“The second quarter earnings season is just around the corner and we’re going to have to watch that closely. You’re not expecting to see any stellar numbers, and I think it’s going to be in line with analysts’ expectations,” Khokhar said.

On DFM, Emaar’s share prices rose 0.47 per cent, as Union Properties went up 1.23 per cent. Dubai Parks and Emaar Malls were both unchanged, as Dubai Islamic Bank slid 0.19 per cent.