Dubai bourse’s top index closes flat, other Gulf indices inch lower
Emaar shares inch lower, Air Arabia gains on media reports
Dubai: The Dubai bourse’s main index ended largely unchanged on Wednesday, even as budget airline Air Arabia gained on media reports that its joint venture was planning on more flights to India after the collapse of rival Jet Airways.
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) index closed at 2,688 points, while Abu Dhabi’s ADX edged down 0.1 per cent.
Real estate stocks underperformed on Wednesday, with Emaar Properties closing down about 0.5 per cent.
A Bloomberg report, which was then circulated by other media outlets, said that Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, a joint venture with Etihad Aviation Group, will take over most of the 100 landing slots in India that were occupied by Jet Airways. Air Arabia denied the report, but not before shares closed up 4.4 per cent.
Analysts expect regional bourses to stay bearish in the following weeks, ahead of Aramco’s IPO as retail investors looks to sell their investments to raise cash to subscribe the potential blockbuster share offering.
Other major Gulf stock markets fell on Wednesday, driven down by financials.
The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia edged down 0.4 per cent, after shares in Banque Saudi Fransi and insurer Alahli Takaful dropped after reporting declines in third-quarter profit. In Qatar, the main index slipped 0.2 per cent.
Oil prices were pulled down by a larger-than-expected build in US crude stocks after gaining for three sessions on hopes of an easing in US-China trade tensions. However, prices in safe-haven gold gained.